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New footage of nonfatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis contradicts agency's self-defense claims

Sofia Barnett, The Minnesota Star Tribune on

Published in News & Features

MINNEAPOLIS — The city of Minneapolis on Monday released video of the January shooting of a man by ICE agents on the North Side that contradicts the version of events federal officials initially provided after the encounter.

Early statements from federal authorities said several men assaulted an immigration agent with a snow shovel and a broomstick before the agent fired in self-defense.

But the city traffic-camera recording shows a much shorter confrontation. The nine-minute video captures roughly 12 seconds of struggling between the agent and two men near the entrance of a duplex. A snow shovel visible at the start of the clip is tossed aside before the scuffle begins and does not appear to be used as a weapon.

The Jan. 14 encounter left Julio C. Sosa-Celis, 25, wounded in the leg. Federal prosecutors later dropped felony charges against Sosa-Celis and another man, Alfredo A. Aljorna, who had been accused of assaulting and impeding the agent.

Nearly a month after the shooting, Minnesota’s top federal prosecutor, Daniel Rosen, asked a judge to dismiss criminal charges against Sosa-Celis and Aljorna once it became clear that the federal agents involved lied during sworn testimony. Those unnamed officers were suspended pending an internal investigation, which could result in their termination or criminal prosecution.

The case was one of the many falsehoods touted by President Donald Trump’s administration about the people detained, arrested and killed by federal agents during Operation Metro Surge. It also marked the only time that federal authorities admitted wrongdoing.

Minneapolis officials posted the footage Monday on the city’s website.

“The City has no additional information and will not be making further comments at this time,” the city said in a statement accompanying the video.

The recording was captured by a traffic-signal camera near N. Lyndale Avenue and 24th Avenue N., positioned about half a block from the duplex where the shooting occurred.

The footage shows Aljorna running toward the home after his vehicle stops nearby, with a federal immigration agent chasing him on foot.

Sosa-Celis is standing outside holding a snow shovel. As the agent closes the distance, Sosa-Celis drops the shovel and moves toward the porch area where the pursuit ends.

The agent catches up with Aljorna at the front of the house, and a struggle begins near the doorway. Sosa-Celis steps toward the two men as the confrontation unfolds.

The three figures remain clustered near the entrance for several seconds. Another federal agent involved in the pursuit arrives moments later in a vehicle.

 

Because the camera is mounted far from the scene, some details are difficult to see clearly. At one point a long, narrow object appears to move from the porch area, though the video does not clearly show what it is or whether it struck anyone.

Seconds later, the pursuing agent steps backward and points a firearm toward the house. The recording contains no audio, and the precise moment the shot is fired cannot be determined from the video alone.

Witnesses always maintained that the ICE agent fired after the men fled into the house, striking Sosa-Celis in the thigh. Evidence later proved that a bullet pierced the door, undermining the officer’s self-defense claim.

The shooting occurred during a period of heightened tension in Minneapolis, when thousands of federal immigration agents had been deployed to Minnesota as part of a large-scale enforcement surge.

Crowds gathered near the duplex shortly after the shooting. Demonstrators confronted federal agents, damaged vehicles and set off fireworks. Investigators left the scene before completing evidence collection as tensions escalated.

Federal authorities later charged Sosa-Celis and Aljorna with assaulting a federal officer. Prosecutors dismissed the case weeks later before seeking a grand jury indictment, citing new evidence. Authorities have not publicly identified the federal agents involved.

State investigators have been reviewing whether the agent’s use of force was lawful.

The Jan. 14 shooting was one of several high-profile use-of-force incidents involving federal immigration agents in Minneapolis during the winter enforcement surge. Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both U.S. citizens, were shot and killed by agents during the surge.

Sosa-Celis survived the shooting. The federal criminal case tied to the confrontation was later dropped.

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(Liz Sawyer of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story.)


©2026 The Minnesota Star Tribune. Visit at startribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

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