The officer and the wounded man were hospitalized as protests swelled across north Minneapolis.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN — A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot a Venezuelan man in the leg during a confrontation in north Minneapolis on Wednesday evening, officials said, after a foot chase and struggle that drew two bystanders into the fray.
Authorities said the encounter unfolded during a targeted traffic stop around 7 p.m. on Jan. 14, when the man fled, crashed into a parked car and ran. An ICE officer pursued and fought with him before two people from a nearby building joined the struggle, striking the officer with a snow shovel and a broom handle, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The officer fired once and hit the man’s leg. The man and the officer were taken to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. The incident immediately drew crowds in a neighborhood still roiled by a fatal ICE shooting a week earlier.
Witness videos posted online showed federal agents forming skirmish lines as smoke and crowd-control munitions popped in the cold air. City officials said some demonstrators threw objects at police and federal officers overnight, while others tried to keep tensions down and urge people to leave. “What we saw last night was unlawful and unacceptable,” Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said, adding that local officers responded to protect firefighters and ambulances called to the scene. Mayor Jacob Frey condemned the chaos and again criticized federal immigration operations in the city, saying Minneapolis has been pushed to a breaking point by back-to-back shootings involving federal agents.
Federal officials said the officer fired in self-defense after being “ambushed and attacked” during the arrest attempt. DHS said the man shot is a Venezuelan national who came to the United States in 2022 and was in the country illegally. The two other people who joined the struggle were taken into custody. After the shot was fired, the trio briefly barricaded inside an apartment, authorities said, before negotiators helped bring the standoff to an end and medics moved the wounded man to a hospital. The officer was treated for injuries from the assault. Officials did not immediately release the names of those involved, citing the active investigation.
The shooting landed in a city already strained by “Operation Metro Surge,” an expanded federal enforcement push in the Twin Cities that began late last year and has prompted near-daily confrontations. On Jan. 7, 37-year-old Renée Nicole Good was shot and killed by an ICE officer during a separate encounter in south Minneapolis, an incident that drew thousands into the streets and renewed calls from local leaders for federal agents to withdraw. The Justice Department has said it found no basis for a criminal civil rights investigation into that earlier shooting, further inflaming activists who have pressed for independent reviews and public release of video and records. Wednesday night’s gunfire revived those demands and added another flashpoint to a widening political fight over immigration enforcement in Minnesota.
State and city officials have already taken legal steps to challenge the federal operations. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, joined by Minneapolis and St. Paul, filed a federal lawsuit this week seeking to halt what the complaint calls unconstitutional stops and arrests under the surge. The city has also asked for clarity on jurisdiction and coordination after residents complained of masked agents and unmarked vehicles. DHS said its Office of Professional Responsibility is reviewing Wednesday’s use of force, standard after an agent fires a weapon. Local authorities said they are assisting with the scene investigation and will forward any findings to prosecutors if charging decisions are warranted.
By sunrise Thursday, crews were sweeping glass from sidewalks and boarding up ground-floor windows along several blocks where demonstrators and officers clashed. Neighbors described a long night of sirens and flash-bangs, with one shopkeeper saying he sheltered customers in a back room as the crowd surged past. “People are scared and angry,” said Teresa Martinez, who lives a block from the scene. “We don’t want violence from anybody, and we don’t want to feel like we’re in the middle of a war.” A volunteer legal observer said he saw both protesters and police treated for minor injuries as medics navigated icy streets and drifting smoke.
As of Thursday afternoon, authorities said the Venezuelan man remained in stable condition and the two others were being held for questioning. The officer who fired has been placed on administrative duty pending reviews. City leaders scheduled briefings to update residents on public safety and traffic disruptions. Federal officials said additional information, including the officer’s name and any footage collected at the scene, would be released once preliminary interviews are complete. The lawsuit filed by the state and cities is awaiting its first hearing, and local officials expect to outline next steps before the weekend.
Author note: Last updated January 15, 2026.