Federal Officer Shoots Illegal Venezuelan Immigrant In Minneapolis: DHS

The Department of Homeland Security confirmed Wednesday night that a federal law enforcement officer shot an illegal Venezuelan immigrant in Minneapolis during a violent confrontation that left both the officer and the suspect hospitalized.

In a statement, DHS said the officer was “conducting a targeted traffic stop” when the suspect fled on foot. The situation quickly escalated, according to the department, as the individual “began to resist and violently assault the officer,” with two additional suspects joining the attack using a snow shovel and a broomstick.

Facing a life-threatening assault, the officer responded.

DHS said the officer “fired a defensive shot to defend his life,” striking the initial suspect in the leg after he “got loose and began striking the officer with a shovel or broom stick.”

“The attacked officer and subject are both in the hospital. Both attackers are in custody,” DHS said.

Minneapolis city officials acknowledged the incident shortly before 9 p.m., posting on X that they were “aware of reports of a shooting involving federal law enforcement in North Minneapolis” and were “working to confirm additional details.”

The shooting occurred just one week after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jonathan Ross fatally shot Renee Nicole Good during a separate enforcement operation in the city — an incident that triggered protests nationwide and intensified political rhetoric against federal immigration enforcement.

With tensions already elevated, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) delivered remarks Wednesday night shortly before news of the latest shooting broke. Walz accused the federal government of sowing chaos and called on President Donald J. Trump and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to halt enforcement actions in the state.

“What is going on in Minnesota defies belief,” Walz said, urging the administration to “end this occupation.”

“News reports simply don’t do justice to the level of chaos and disruption and trauma the federal government is raining down upon our communities,” he added. “This long ago stopped being a matter of immigration enforcement. Instead, it’s a campaign of organized brutality against the people of Minnesota by our own federal government.”

DHS forcefully rejected those claims, accusing Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey of stoking hostility toward federal officers.

In its statement, the department said the two Democratic officials have been “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,” DHS said. “Federal law enforcement officers are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults against them as they put their lives on the line to arrest criminals and lawbreakers.”

Meanwhile, federal investigators are not expected to bring criminal charges against the ICE agent involved in the Jan. 7 shooting death of Renee Good, according to officials familiar with the probe. The Justice Department is also unlikely to open a civil rights investigation into the incident.

The FBI is leading the inquiry into the encounter, in which Good, 37, was shot during an ICE operation in south Minneapolis. Authorities have indicated investigators increasingly view the use of force as legally justified, though the investigation remains open and no final determination has been announced, according to the New York Times, citing unnamed sources.

Federal officials have stated that the shooting occurred after Good drove her vehicle toward agents as they attempted to execute the operation. Other accounts — including statements from witnesses and community activists — have challenged that narrative, fueling continued protests and demands for transparency.

Despite mounting political pressure, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has declined to open a separate review into whether Good’s civil rights were violated.

That decision has reportedly caused internal unrest within the department, with several federal prosecutors resigning in protest. According to reports, the lawyers had urged Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon to send a DOJ team to Minneapolis in an effort to manufacture a civil rights case — a move the department ultimately rejected.

As federal enforcement continues under President Trump’s second term, the Minneapolis incidents underscore a growing clash between local Democratic leadership and a federal government determined to reassert the rule of law amid escalating attacks on officers.