Federal Officer Shoots Illegal Alien After Being Attacked With Snow Shovel
Virginia Allen /
Protests erupted again in Minneapolis after a federal law enforcement officer shot a Venezuelan man in the leg Wednesday night after being attacked by him and two others wielding a snow shovel and a broom.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, the Venezuelan man was an illegal immigrant who fled a traffic stop by federal agents in his car. When he crashed his vehicle, he fled on foot and then violently resisted arrest, the agency said.
At that point, the agent making the arrest was attacked by two more individuals, and “the original subject got loose and began striking the officer with a shovel or broom stick,” the agency said. The agent, “fearing for his life,” fired his gun in defense and wounded the Venezuelan man in the leg. The three alleged assailants then fled and barricaded themselves inside a nearby residence.
Federal agents entered the apartment, arresting the men, according to the local ABC affiliate KSTP. The illegal alien who was shot in the leg was taken to the hospital and was reported in stable condition, according to Reuters.
The agent who was attacked was badly beaten and is receiving treatment, News Nation’s Ali Bradley reports.
“This attack on another brave member of law enforcement took place while Minnesota’s top leaders, Governor [Tim] Walz and Mayor [Jacob] Frey, are actively encouraging an organized resistance to ICE and federal law enforcement officers,” DHS said in a statement on X.
The shooting took place about three hours after Walz, a Democrat, issued a video message to Minnesotans telling them federal agents were causing “chaos and disruption and trauma” in the state.
“All across Minnesota, people are learning about opportunities not just to resist, but to help people who are in danger,” Walz said. “Thousands upon thousands of our fellow Minnesotans are going to be relying on mutual aid in the days and weeks to come and they need our support.”
Walz and Frey have repeatedly asked President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to cease immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota.
The shooting Wednesday night comes one week after a federal immigration officer shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Good in Minneapolis when Good, according to Noem, attempted to use her vehicle as a weapon against the ICE agent. Some eyewitnesses and Democratic officials disputed that account, saying Good attempted to drive away from agents.
The FBI is investigating the shooting that left Good dead.
Anti-ICE protests have increased in the city following Good’s death, and continued Wednesday night.
Law enforcement employed the use of “flash bangs” to control protests after the most recent shooting incident, according to Bradley.
In early January, DHS announced it was surging 2,000 federal immigration officers to the city, and the Trump administration announced the deployment of hundreds more following the shooting last week.