LA man shot by federal agents during arrest streams law enforcement
activity on TikTok
[October 23, 2025]
By JAIMIE DING and AMY TAXIN
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles man shot by federal officers while he
tried to evade arrest Tuesday morning is a popular local TikTok streamer
who documents police activity, immigration enforcement and daily
neighborhood life.
Carlitos Ricardo Parias, 44, was charged with assaulting a federal
officer after authorities say he rammed his vehicle into theirs while
they attempted to arrest him on an immigration warrant. He is a Mexican
citizen living in the U.S. illegally, federal authorities said. Agents
shot him in the elbow during the encounter and he remained in the
hospital in stable condition Wednesday morning. An initial court
appearance was delayed.
His attorney, Carlos Jurado, said the hospital had not allowed him or
family members to see Parias yet. Parias called Jurado briefly Wednesday
morning and said guards were watching him.
“What we want is we want to see him in person,” Jurado said. The
hospital did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Parias is well-known in the neighborhood of South LA for his
Spanish-language videos posted on TikTok on two accounts with more than
340,000 followers combined. Videos on his page dating back to 2024
document police activity, car accidents, and fires, as well as
tortilla-making, Mexican landscapes, rainy days in Los Angeles and
animals. This year, the footage has also focused on demonstrations
against immigration enforcement and arrests by federal deportation
authorities.
Parias is one of many social media users that post about immigration
raids and arrests across Southern California, often relaying information
in real time to alert community members.
Los Angeles City Councilmember Curren Price's office recently recognized
Parias for his reporting. He's also shared information about city
services such as food assistance programs and toy giveaways, said Jose
Ugarte, Price’s chief of staff.
“People are afraid to go to certain areas,” Ugarte said. “We realized
Richard was giving a lot of news to a lot of our residents.”
Federal agents were surveilling Parias' neighborhood Tuesday morning
because they had an administrative immigration arrest warrant for him,
according to a criminal complaint released by acting U.S. Attorney Bill
Essayli's office. When Parias left his home and got in the car, agents
followed him and boxed him in with their vehicles. Parias drove his car
forward and back, hitting law enforcement vehicles, the complaint said.
An agent attempted to break the driver’s side window of the car, and
eventually at least one officer opened fire. A deputy U.S. marshal
assisting with the arrest was hit in the hand by a ricochet bullet.
It was federal authorities' second time attempting to arrest Parias,
said Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of
Homeland Security. She did not immediately respond to requests for
comment about whether there was a removal order for Parias or whether
he'd previously been deported.
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In this photo provided by the office of Los Angeles City
Councilmember Curren Price, Carlitos Ricardo Parias, left receives a
certificate of recognition from Jose Ugarte, chief of staff for Los
Angeles City Councilmember Curren Price in Los Angeles, Aug. 2025.
(Office of Los Angeles City Councilmember Curren Price via AP)
Jurado, his attorney, said he did not have details on any prior
interactions between Parias and federal officials.
Ugarte and advocates said Parias had an encounter with Immigration
and Customs Enforcement agents on June 13 when he was documenting
their activity. A video posted on a different TikTok account shows a
man identified as Parias in a “press” vest sitting on the ground
grabbing his leg. Ugarte said Parias told him that he had been
pushed and had to go to the hospital.
One video on Parias' page from September shows a white van partly
blocked by two vehicles with a song about migrants by the Guatemalan
singer Ricardo Arjona playing in the background. Another video of
the scene warns followers to be careful seeing “how border agents
pass our people from one car to another.”
Just last week, another video on his page shows police searching a
car parked on the side of a road near a graffiti-covered building.
The narrator explains authorities found what appears to be a
homeless person dead inside. He says he is reporting from Los
Angeles, “where luck and death go hand in hand.”
Chris Newman, legal director for the National Day Laborer Organizing
Network, said independent reporting from community members is
essential as immigration agents fan out across the region making
arrests.
“It’s another example of how the sort of leadership on the street is
eclipsing the leadership of people in positions of power, whether in
municipal government or in the news media,” Newman said. “They’re
serving the public interest incredibly."
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Taxin reported from Santa Ana, Calif.
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