(NewsNation) — A federal immigration officer shot a man in the leg Wednesday in Minneapolis after a traffic stop escalated into a struggle involving three individuals, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
DHS said agents were attempting to arrest Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan national who was in the U.S. illegally, when he crashed his vehicle into a parked car during a “targeted traffic stop.”
The ICE officer caught up to Sosa-Celis, who DHS said began assaulting the officer. Amid a “struggle on the ground” between the pair, two other people came out from a nearby apartment and began attacking the officer, DHS said.
“As the officer was being ambushed and attacked by the two individuals, the original subject got loose and began striking the officer with a shovel or broomstick,” DHS said in a statement.
The officer then fired “defensive shots to defend his life,” hitting Sosa-Celis in the leg. All three people ran into the apartment and barricaded themselves inside, according to DHS.
The government has identified the two other men as Alfredo Alejandro Ajorna and Gabriel Alejandro Hernandez-Ledezma, also from Venezuela. All three men entered the U.S. illegally between 2022 and 2023, according to DHS.
Witnesses told the Minnesota Star Tribune that officers broke down the apartment door to apprehend them.
The three men were taken into custody Wednesday, and both the officer and Sosa-Celis were hospitalized.
Noem told reporters on Thursday the officer was “beat up, he’s bruised, he’s injured.”
Minneapolis Mayo Jacob Frey has continually urged protesters to remain calm amid “disgusting and intolerable” behavior from ICE.
“For those that have peacefully protested, I applaud you. For those that are taking the bait, you are not helping and you are not helping the undocumented immigrants in our city,” Frey said.
In a statement about Wednesday’s shooting, DHS admonished the response from local officials, including Frey and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
Latest ICE shooting comes week after Renee Good’s death
The incident comes a week after the fatal shooting of Renee Macklin Good, a 37-year-old mother who was protesting against ICE in Minneapolis.
On Wednesday, a Homeland Security official confirmed to NewsNation that the officer, Jonathan Ross, suffered internal bleeding after that incident.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said Ross was hit by Good’s vehicle Jan. 7, backing up the administration’s claims he shot the 37-year-old motorist in “self-defense.” “He went to the hospital. A doctor did treat him. He has been released, but he’s going to spend some time with his family,” Noem said last week.
Local and state leaders in Minnesota have repeatedly criticized the Trump administration for ICE’s presence in Minneapolis and its response to Macklin Good’s death.