Only a few hours after gunshots ripped through a quiet Biddeford neighborhood early Monday morning, hundreds of residents took to the streets in protest.

Federal immigration agents’ fatal shooting of a 26-year-old Colombian man as he drove to work prompted a widespread and immediate response among locals, many of whom said it reopened wounds left by “Operation Catch of the Day,” the late-January federal immigration enforcement surge that resulted in some 200 people being detained.

The anger was palpable.

“You murdered a father,” one protester’s sign read. “Get the (expletive) out.”

“ICE is the new Gestapo,” said another.

“This is the government the founders warned us about,” read a third.

News of the shooting rippled quickly through Biddeford. As photos and videos of the man laying bloodied on the ground circulated across social media, many said they felt compelled to protest.

Protesters walk along Main Street in Biddeford on Monday after a man was fatally shot by federal immigration agents. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer)

“Just before eight o’clock this morning, I woke up to gunshots,” said Biddeford resident Barbara Malloch, who lives a block away from the site of the shooting. “We don’t want ICE here. They’re killing people. They’re not following the law.”

“We have to do something,” she added.

The Biddeford shooting was the latest killing involving federal immigration agents. At least nine people have been killed during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, according to The Associated Press, including a man in Houston just six days prior.

The neighborhood where Monday’s shooting occurred is home to many immigrant families, and ICE’s presence there had become more pronounced in recent weeks, several neighbors said.

One woman who asked not to be named said she often saw black Chevrolet Camaros nearby, circling the neighborhood, its bus stops and its schools. Another neighbor, Larry Humiston, said he saw ICE agents try to arrest a number of workers just a week or two earlier.

“They chased down a bunch of guys working on a roof down the street a week or two ago,” he said. “They all ran. I saw one guy jump off the roof to get away. They left all their equipment on top of the roof.”

It was that chain of events — the sudden surge of immigration agents to Maine earlier this year followed by more covert actions — that has fueled a simmering anger among many southern Maine residents about the prevalence of ICE agents and immigration arrests.

“This is disgusting. It’s un-American,” said a woman who gave her name only as Alyssa O. “It’s unconstitutional and it’s unlawful. What we are doing as people — showing up for our community — that’s what needs to be done. That’s what we will do.”

That’s just what hundreds of people did on Monday.

What began as a small gathering of a dozen protesters at Biddeford’s Mechanics Park around 11:30 a.m. quickly grew into a crowd of more than 200 by early afternoon.

They came with signs. They came with banners. They came with bullhorns and drums to rally the crowd. But more than anything, they came with outrage.

People protest on Main Street in Biddeford on Monday following the fatal shooting that morning. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer)

“How can you ignore this? To sit on the couch and act like it’s an ordinary day — you can’t,” Duncan Sisson said. “They came in here trigger happy and unorganized. It’s not normal.”

The crowd marched from Mechanics Park down Main Street, filling the sidewalk and spilling into the road as their chants filled the cavernous space between the Pepperell Mill and the row of businesses on the opposite side of the street.

“No more hate, no more fear!” they shouted. “Immigrants are welcome here!”

Protesters gathered outside Republican Sen. Susan Collins’ office in downtown Biddeford around 12:45 p.m. As the group outside chanted “vote her out!” — a reference to Collins’ votes to increase ICE funding — a smaller group of about a dozen people spilled into the office’s entryway.

People protest at the Biddeford office of Sen. Susan Collins on Monday following a shooting that involved ICE. (Staff photo by Derek Davis/Staff Photographer)

“This is your fault Susan!” one man shouted.

“There’s blood on your hands!” yelled another.

Office staff members locked the doors. Protesters began banging on the glass. The chants grew louder as more pushed their way into the tiny space between the crowded street and the senator’s office.

Police were called shortly after and arriving officers moved toward the front of the crowd, placing themselves between the protesters and the office’s doors.

The police ultimately cleared the entryway, and the crowd moved back down Main Street to Mechanics Park, where local immigrant activists and community leaders spoke to the crowd. And even as the hours wore on, the anger over the shooting remained constant.

“This is our moment to be decisive. Is this the America we want?” Eisha Khan, a Biddeford resident and wife of Mayor Liam LaFountain, asked the crowd. “Immigrants have helped build this nation, and they continue to. Immigrants like my family members. Immigrants that I see in this room.”