Pasadena canceled all activities scheduled for Saturday, June 21, at three city parks after reports that armed federal agents arrived suddenly at Villa Parke and detained people who were heading to their jobs.

“Several heavily armed individuals showed up at Villa Parke … 50 yards from a playground .. they took individuals off the streets as they were buying tamales on their way to work,” Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo said from the scene.

“This is wrong,” he mayor said. “It’s intended to instill fear … where is America is it acceptable for armed individuals to show up unannounced, without informing the police department?”

City officials said in a news release they learned of the federal actions after seeing social media posts of people being detained, and concerns for “the potential escalation of conflict that unannounced federal enforcement activity causes.”

Witnesses at Villa Parke on Saturday morning described a large unmarked SUV and another, darker car that pulled up in front of a tamale stand at Park and Garfield, in front of a soccer field around 6 a.m. ICE agents reportedly detained three men who were buying food at the stand, and another who was taken at nearby Marengo Avenue – four men in all.

By 9 a.m., the cars of those who were taken sat abandoned on the street.

The agents’ stop in the middle of the narrow street startled Carmen Garcia, who for more than 15 years has run a taco stand at the location.

She said in Spanish that she was in fear immediately, not just for the incident that was unfolding in front of her, but that she herself would be taken.

Her daughter, Sandra, a caregiver in Pasadena, was called and came as soon as she could.

“Somebody called me and I left right away, thinking the worst, that they were taking her. Because they are taking everybody,” Sandra Garcia said.

“I’m very very very angry … they are are targeting people who are hardworking,” she said.

A longtime Pasadena resident, she said she’s been telling people to be vigilant, especially after ICE detained several men on Wednesday outside a nearby Winchell’s Donuts.

“Why are they taking my people? It breaks my heart,” Sandra Garcia said in tears. “They are taking people making a better life.”

The arrests immediately touched off a scramble in the quiet, working-class neighborhood.Throughout the morning, residents stood in their front yards talking to each other about what happened.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Daniela Navin, a neighbor. “They were here on Wednesday and they are back again.

“This is my park. I walk my dog here. It’s my neighborhood,” she said. “This hits really close to home. This is my library right here.

“These people were just doing their job and working.”

The early morning raid on Saturday followed another on Wednesday, not far away in the city, at Orange Grove Boulevard and Los Robles Avenue.

Gordo said six men were taken into federal custody at that time, at least two from an LA Metro bus stop, video shows.

Pasadena police were investigating the incident after witnesses and video appeared to show an agent exiting an unmarked car in tactical gear, armed with a handgun that he pointed at civilians.

Witnesses said the agent pointed the gun at a person who was trying to take a picture of the incident.

Video shows the agent getting back into the car, turning on a siren and jolting into a busy intersection, where it sped away.

The men were taken to a processing facility at a federal facility downtown. But on Wednesday, ICE turned away local leaders who were trying to see them.

Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo was among local leaders who showed up at the federal facility downtown on Wednesday, seeking answers on why the men were detained.

He ultimately didn’t receive any.

“The broader question for all of us ​is how many others are in​ this situation with no one to speak for them​, and is that really who we are and want to be a​s a society, and ultimately a country​,” he said on Friday.

On Sunday, June 8, demonstrators marched through Old Pasadena, calling for federal agents to get out of town and for the city to reaffirm its sanctuary policies.

White House border czar Tom Homan has said agents are forced to make more arrests in communities because of sanctuary policies limiting cooperation with ICE in some cities. ICE enforces immigration laws but seeks state and local help in alerting federal authorities of immigrants wanted for deportation and holding that person until federal officers arrive.

President Trump has announced he would target Democratic cities for enforcement actions. Masked agents also have detained people going to routine appointments and hearings at immigration court.

Critics contend that most of those detained or arrested on the streets around communities or while at work have no criminal backgrounds, or are here legally or are U.S. citizens.

On Friday, Maywood and Bell became the latest Los Angeles County cities where protests against the Trump administration’s enforcement of immigration law were met with violence.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a statement on social media Friday saying, “Today in Bell and Maywood, CA, Border Patrol vehicles were violently targeted during lawful operations.

“On Atlantic Blvd, one vehicle was rammed and had its tires slashed. On Slauson Ave, a civilian struck a federal vehicle, totaling it. The driver was arrested for suspicion of vehicular assault as a mob formed and slashed additional tires,” the statement said.

“LAPD, LAFD, OFO teams, and Border Patrol Special Operations responded and restored order. One suspect is in custody and will be presented to U.S. Attorney’s Office for criminal prosecution.”

Maywood is patrolled by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Bell has its own police department. Neither is under the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles police or fire departments.

This is a developing story. Please check back for more.

City News Service contributed to this report.