Minneapolis was rocked by another night of unrest after a federal immigration agent shot a Venezuelan man in the leg during a traffic stop, an incident that authorities say triggered violent clashes between protesters and law enforcement in a city already tense from a recent fatal shooting involving immigration officers.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which is overseeing President Donald Trump’s renewed immigration crackdown, said the shooting occurred late Wednesday evening after the man fled a traffic stop, crashed his vehicle into a parked car and attempted to escape on foot in sub-freezing conditions. According to DHS, the man was in the United States illegally.
Federal officials said an immigration officer caught up with the suspect, who then resisted arrest. As the officer struggled with him on the street, two people emerged from a nearby apartment and attacked the agent with a snow shovel and a broom handle. The Venezuelan man allegedly broke free, seized one of the tools and began striking the officer.
“Fearing for his life and safety,” the officer fired his weapon, wounding the suspect in the leg, DHS said in a statement.
The wounded man, along with the two others involved in the altercation, fled into an apartment building and barricaded themselves inside before being taken into custody. Both the suspect and the officer were transported to hospital. A person familiar with the situation said the Venezuelan man was in stable condition, while the officer’s condition was not immediately disclosed.
The shooting set off hours of chaotic confrontations across nearby residential streets. Protesters hurled rocks, chunks of ice and fireworks at law enforcement agents, who responded with tear gas and other crowd-control munitions. Reuters journalists at the scene described dark streets choked with gas, briefly illuminated by headlamps worn by agents and flashes from stun devices.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said officers observed people “engaging in unlawful acts” and urged crowds to disperse before the situation escalated further. Standing alongside him at a late-night press conference, Mayor Jacob Frey appealed for calm.
“We do not need this to escalate any further,” O’Hara said. Frey added that while residents had a right to protest, violence would only deepen the crisis. “We cannot counter Donald Trump’s chaos with our own brand of chaos,” the mayor said.
DHS accused Frey and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, both Democrats, of encouraging resistance to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) through what it described as “hateful rhetoric.” Frey rejected the accusation, saying city leaders were trying to prevent further bloodshed while protecting civil liberties.
The city has remained on edge since January 7, when ICE agents fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Good, a US citizen and mother of three, during an encounter in her car. Good had been part of a neighbourhood patrol network of activists who track and monitor the activities of federal immigration officers. Her death ignited widespread outrage and prompted nightly demonstrations.
Opponents of the ICE surge say Good posed no physical threat and dispute federal assertions that the agent who shot her believed she was attempting to run him over. Rather than scaling back enforcement as demanded by city and state leaders, the Trump administration announced plans to deploy hundreds more agents to Minneapolis, bolstering a force of roughly 2,000 already operating in the city.
In recent days, federal agents have conducted what residents describe as roving street sweeps, stopping pedestrians and motorists, sometimes without warrants. Reuters journalists have documented heavily armed agents moving through icy neighbourhoods in military-style camouflage, many wearing masks that conceal their faces. Residents have responded by blowing whistles, shouting warnings and filming encounters on their phones.
Videos circulating online show agents smashing car windows, pulling occupants from vehicles and demanding identification from non-white US citizens before releasing them, prompting accusations of racial profiling. In several instances, agents fired pepper spray at close range or used flash-bang grenades to disperse crowds.
DHS has denied misconduct, saying its officers are facing increasing assaults while attempting to detain immigration violators. The department has also rejected claims of racial profiling, insisting arrests are based on reasonable suspicion regarding immigration status. Federal officers have arrested several US citizens accused of interfering with enforcement operations, including protesters chased through the streets and tackled to the ground.
The non-profit group World Relief said dozens of people legally admitted as refugees, including children, were arrested in Minnesota over the weekend as part of a Trump administration effort to re-vet refugees who entered the country under former president Joe Biden. DHS responded by citing fraud allegations involving members of Minnesota’s Somali community.
“The Trump administration will not stand idly by as the US immigration system is weaponised by those seeking to defraud the American people,” a DHS spokesperson said.
Trump has repeatedly invoked the fraud allegations, using inflammatory language to describe Somali immigrants in Minnesota and calling for deportations. Administration officials have sought to link the Minneapolis crackdown to the broader scandal, arguing that Democratic-led cities do not adequately cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
The president has warned that states and cities with so-called sanctuary policies could face cuts to federal funding as early as next month. As Minneapolis braces for further deployments of federal agents, city leaders and residents alike fear that the latest shooting may deepen a cycle of confrontation with no clear end in sight.
