A video circulating on social media captured the chaotic aftermath of a federal enforcement operation on Wednesday evening in Minneapolis, where a man was shot in the leg by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent, according to authorities and local officials.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said an ICE agent shot a Venezuelan man in the leg during a targeted enforcement action. The agency said the incident began with a traffic stop. The man, who DHS said entered the U.S. unlawfully in 2022, fled the scene, crashed his vehicle and ran on foot.
According to federal officials, the man and two others then assaulted an ICE officer with a shovel and a broom handle during a struggle before they barricaded themselves inside a residence. DHS said the agent fired a "defensive shot," striking the man in the leg. Both the agent and the man who was shot were hospitalized, DHS said. The two others involved in the incident were taken into custody, the department added.
The shooting comes amid heightened tension in Minneapolis following the death of Renee Nicole Good, who was shot and killed by an ICE agent during a separate enforcement operation earlier in January. That earlier encounter has drawn widespread criticism and protests, with local officials and community groups questioning the use of force and the scale of federal immigration operations in the city.
The video of the aftermath shows people inside a home speaking in Spanish to emergency dispatchers. Several voices can be heard pleading for help and saying a man had been shot. The footage, taken from inside the residence, also shows red and blue lights from emergency vehicles outside. At least two young children appear in the video.
"Please help us. We have children! I have a baby. We have a little boy in the house," an individual is heard saying.
"My husband was being chased for about half an hour, and they were trying to hit him. He came home, and when we closed the door, they shot him. They were far away from us," a woman is heard saying.
Another voice said federal agents were trying to enter the property. The video does not clearly show the wounded man.
"Tell them they shot the door," another woman says. "Son, come. Son, come."
In the hours after the latest Minneapolis shooting, protesters and federal immigration agents again clashed on the city's cold, snow‑covered streets, with demonstrators gathering near the scene and law enforcement deploying tear gas and other crowd‑control tactics to disperse the crowd, according to multiple news reports.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said during a news conference: "I have faith that the investigators that are involved will follow every lead in this case and ensure it is completed to its logical conclusion."
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said during the news conference: "There's still a lot that we don't know at this time, but what I can tell you for certain is that this is not sustainable. This is an impossible situation that our city is presently being put in, and at the same time, we are trying to find a way forward to keep people safe, to protect our neighbors,to maintain order."
The Department of Homeland Security wrote on X: "This attack on another brave member of law enforcement took place while Minnesota's top leaders, Governor Walz and Mayor Frey, are actively encouraging an organized resistance to ICE and federal law enforcement officers. Their hateful rhetoric and resistance against men and women who are simply trying to do their jobs must end."
The investigation remains ongoing.