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FIRST ON FOX: Following mainstream media reporting about ICE arresting a 13-year-old boy and separating him from his family, the Trump Department of Homeland Security is setting the record straight on his suspected gang involvement and stated intent to “shoot and kill” another student.
Media outlets ran headlines such as, “Her 13-year-old son was arrested, then taken by ICE to a detention facility. The police chief calls it a first for his city” and “Mass. 13-year-old was picked up by ICE after a police interaction and now he’s hundreds of miles from home.”
However, DHS officials told Fox News Digital that the teen, Brazilian illegal immigrant Arthur Yuri De Almeida Silva Berto, is a suspected member of the “33” gang with 11 prior police complaints filed by Everett Police Department in Massachusetts for criminal behavior, including breaking and entering, vandalism, theft, fighting, ‘flash mob’ style shoplifting and more.
Berto was arrested by Everett Police Oct. 9 after a classmate reported he had shown her a concealed gun on school property, stating he was looking for another boy he had been fighting with and that he was going to “shoot and kill him,” according to a police report obtained by Fox News Digital.
KENTUCKY TEEN DIES PROTECTING MOTHER FROM ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT’S VIOLENT ALLEGED ASSAULT IN FAMILY APARTMENT
A redacted copy of a “weapons law violation” police report involving Berto shared by DHS. (Department of Homeland Security)
After being alerted, police searched the school area and found Berto at a bus stop. He was searched and found with a concealed 5½-inch Milwaukee knife.
According to DHS, local officials contacted federal law enforcement and notified it of the arrest. Later that same day, ICE Boston officers took the teen into custody outside the Everett Police Department. The next day, ICE transported Berto to the Northwest Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Winchester, Virginia.
An immigration court document obtained by Fox News Digital from a high-ranking Trump administration official states that, based upon Berto’s recidivist criminal history and ties to the 33 gang, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations determined him to be a “public safety threat.”
According to the document, Berto entered the U.S. illegally with his family Sept. 24, 2021, near San Luis, Arizona. He and his family were released into the U.S. on an order of release on recognizance under the Biden administration.
ICE ARRESTS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CHARGED WITH CHILD SEX CRIMES AFTER HIS RELEASE BY LOCAL POLICE DESPITE DETAINER
ICE and several other federal agencies during an immigration enforcement operation. (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
Police complaints involving Berto date back to June 2024, when Everett police responded to a disturbance involving minors and found him with other gang members, according to an immigration court document obtained by Fox News Digital from a senior Trump administration official.
In July 2024, police issued a summons for larceny over $1,200 for Berto after he was observed on video footage stealing two bicycles and a cellphone.
After further incidents involving vandalism, he was identified by police as a “high-risk juvenile” in March. In April, he was charged with receiving stolen property and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. That same month, he was caught by police in a stolen vehicle with three other individuals, all wearing ski masks.
In May, he was again caught on video footage, this time participating in a 33 gang “flash mob”-style shoplifting incident at a convenience store. Berto was arraigned in May by the Middlesex County Juvenile Court in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for knowingly receiving stolen property, breaking and entering and malicious destruction of property.
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Residents surround federal and Border Patrol agents who plan their escape after an immigrant raid on Atlantic Boulevard in Bell, Calif., June 19, 2025. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
In July, he was again arraigned for assault and battery and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Everett police also filed a criminal complaint against Berto for the charge of receiving stolen property over $1,200 after receiving a report that he had stolen a moped.
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“Here are the facts: This individual and suspected gang member posed a public safety threat with an extensive rap sheet, including violent assault with a dangerous weapon, battery, breaking and entering and destruction of property,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, federal law enforcement is restoring common sense and law and order to our streets. This public safety threat will stay in juvenile detention pending further proceedings.”
