‘Leave our City’: Minneapolis officials lash out after federal agent shoots Venezuelan man

Tensions between local leaders and federal authorities reached a breaking point in Minneapolis on Wednesday after a federal immigration agent shot a man during a confrontation.

The incident has sparked fresh outrage in a city still reeling from a fatal shooting involving federal agents just one week ago.

City officials, acknowledging the growing public frustration, took to social media to call for an end to federal operations in the region.

“We understand there is anger,” city officials wrote on X, adding, “The City of Minneapolis again demands that ICE leave the city and the state immediately.”

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed the shooting via X, providing a narrative of a routine stop that turned violent. According to the federal agency, the encounter began when an agent attempted a traffic stop on an individual they described as “an illegal alien from Venezuela” who allegedly resisted arrest.

The situation reportedly escalated when bystanders intervened in the arrest attempt.

“While the subject and law enforcement were in a struggle on the ground, two subjects came out of a nearby apartment and also attacked the law enforcement officer with a snow shovel and broom handle,” DHS stated.

DHS officials maintained that the officer was forced to use his firearm to protect himself, noting that he “fired a defensive shot to defend his life,” which struck the primary suspect in the leg.

The shooting has intensified the political divide between Minnesota’s elected officials and the Department of Homeland Security. This latest use of force follows a separate incident seven days ago where federal agents shot and killed an American woman, an event that had already put the community on edge.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz released a video on social media on Wednesday, delivering a scathing critique of the federal government’s recent tactics. He condemned what he described as “the chaos, disruption and trauma the federal government is raining down on our community.”

Walz further detailed reports of aggressive tactics being used in residential neighborhoods, describing door-to-door interrogations carried out by “armed, masked, undertrained” ICE agents.

While DHS defended the shooting as a necessary act of self-defense, city leaders continue to urge the public to “remain calm” while reiterating their demand for the immediate withdrawal of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from Minneapolis and the broader state of Minnesota