One person is dead after a shooting involving Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officers in Minneapolis.
Around 9:00 a.m. local time on Saturday, Jan. 24, DHS law enforcement officers were carrying out what the agency described as a targeted operation in Minneapolis involving an undocumented person wanted in connection with a violent assault, according to a statement from DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
McLaughlin said a man — whose identity has not been released — approached U.S. Border Patrol officers while armed with a handgun and resisted as officers attempted to disarm him. She said an agent then fired what she described as “defensive shots.”
She added that medics provided aid at the scene, but the man was pronounced dead. McLaughlin also claimed the person had two magazines and no identification.
Later on Jan. 24, Minneapolis police said the person who died was a 37-year-old White man from Minneapolis and that investigators believed he was a lawful gun owner. Police Chief Brian O’Hara said that, to his knowledge, the man’s only prior interactions with law enforcement involved parking tickets.
O’Hara said preliminary information indicated there may have been more than one officer involved in firing a weapon. He also pointed to publicly circulating video that appears to show multiple officers in a physical struggle with someone.
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When asked about the DHS account of the incident, O’Hara said the video “speaks for itself.”
Not long after the shooting, at least 200 protesters gathered near the scene, The Associated Press reported, leading to confrontations between federal law enforcement and members of the public.
In an earlier statement on Jan. 24, the City of Minneapolis said, “We are aware of reports of another shooting involving federal law enforcement in the area of 26th Street W and Nicollet Ave.”
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“We are working to confirm additional details. We ask the public to remain calm and avoid the immediate area,” the city continued. (The City of Minneapolis shared the same statement in an X post.)
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz reacted in a post on X, saying he spoke with the White House after what he called “another horrific shooting by federal agents” that morning.
“The President must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now,” Walz added, referring to Donald Trump’s use of federal agents in the state.
When reached for comment, an ICE spokesperson referred questions to DHS.
The shooting comes weeks after another fatal incident in Minneapolis, when a woman, Renee Good, was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent.
