ICE Agent Shoots Man After ‘Ambush’ Attack in North Minneapolis
Near 24th Ave. N. & Lyndale Ave. N. in Minneapolis on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. MN CRIME PHOTO
BY MN CRIME STAFF
Near 24th Ave. N. & Lyndale Ave. N. in Minneapolis on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. MN CRIME PHOTO
A federal immigration enforcement operation in north Minneapolis ended with a man shot in the leg Wednesday night after an ICE agent was reportedly attacked outside an apartment building.
The incident unfolded shortly before 7 p.m. on the 600 block of 24th Avenue North.
EMS radio traffic indicated paramedics were sent to the scene for a male with a gunshot wound to the thigh. He was transported to North Memorial Hospital.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara later said the wound was non-life-threatening and the ICE agent involved was also hospitalized, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Early reports suggested two people may have been shot, but EMS confirmed only one gunshot victim.
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DHS said ICE agents were conducting what it described as a targeted traffic stop around 6:50 p.m. involving a man identified as an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela. According to DHS, the man fled in a vehicle, crashed into a parked car and ran on foot. An ICE agent caught up with him and attempted to take him into custody when the man allegedly resisted and assaulted the agent.
DHS said two other people then came out of a nearby apartment and joined the confrontation, striking the agent with a snow shovel and a broom handle. The agency described the agent as being “ambushed” while being attacked by three people. During the struggle, the ICE agent fired a single defensive shot, striking the original suspect in the thigh. DHS said all three people ran back into the apartment and were later taken into custody.
As the incident unfolded, a crowd formed near 24th Avenue North & Lyndale Avenue North. Radio traffic indicated a Minnesota State Patrol helicopter was requested to assist overhead. Officers deployed flashbang devices and tear gas as protesters gathered in the area.
MPD Chief Brian O’Hara and Mayor Jacob Frey in a late-night media conference Wednesday, Jan. 14. via City of Minneapolis
During a media conference held around 10:30 p.m., O’Hara said Minneapolis police requested mutual aid from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and the Minnesota State Patrol due to the size of the crowd and escalating conditions. O’Hara said protesters were engaging in “unlawful acts,” including throwing fireworks at officers, and that multiple dispersal orders were issued.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey also addressed the situation, criticizing the surge in federal immigration enforcement activity in the city. “This is not sustainable,” Frey said, calling the increased ICE presence an “impossible situation” for local law enforcement. He said already thin MPD staffing levels are being strained by the number of related calls for service.
“We cannot be at a place right now in America where we have two governmental entities that are literally fighting one another,” Frey said. “We have ICE agents throughout our city and throughout our state, who along with Border Patrol, are creating chaos.”
DHS confirmed the ICE agent and the man who was shot were both hospitalized. The agency said the two other people involved were also taken into custody. Authorities have not released the names of those involved or announced any criminal charges.
The shooting occurred one week after 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent during a separate federal operation in south Minneapolis on Jan. 7.
As of publication, the investigation into the shooting and the ICE agent’s use of force remains ongoing.
