‘Fearing for his life!’: Trump administration claims self-defense after yet another ICE shooting in Minneapolis

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It remains a tumultuous time in Minnesota. It hasn’t even been a week since the Renee Good tragic killing and the subsequent debates about immigration agents’ enforcement tactics before another shooting happened in the state. The Donald Trump administration has again defended the immigration agent, stating that it was another “defensive shot to defend his life.” Per Newsweek, the DHS took to X to announce that immigration officers had stopped an immigrant from Venezuela at 6:50 p.m. The federal agents reportedly had sufficient evidence to believe that the Venezuelan national was in the US illegally. DHS alleged that the man refused to stop and drove into a nearby parked car before hopping out of the vehicle and attempting to make a run for it. The agents ran after the man and eventually caught up to him. Allegedly, that’s when two people from a nearby apartment ran in to intervene in the arrest. From that point, DHS claimed the two “attacked the law enforcement officer with a snow shovel and broom handle.” DHS added in its statement that the agent, “Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, fired a defensive shot to defend his life. The initial subject was hit in the leg.” The latest shooting, coming so soon after the controversial Good shooting, has only heightened tensions in Minneapolis. Federal prosecutors have resigned in response to nationwide protests surrounding growing concerns in the city, and the mayor of Minneapolis has stated in unmistakably stern words that he wants ICE out of his city. The whole saga in the state started after YouTuber Nick Shirley posted a video on YouTube and X alleging that the Somali community had been running fraudulent child care centers in a bid to defraud the state of federal funds. Right-wing commentators and politicians then publicly called for intervention from the federal government, and over 2,000 ICE agents landed in the state. Furthermore, Trump even ended the Temporary Protected Status of Somali nationals in a bid to stop the alleged fraud. Now the situation has escalated to unprecedented levels. Reportedly, after the man was shot, he rushed into his house and refused to leave to face the ICE agents. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara explained how the man was finally able to receive medical assistance, saying, “Eventually, federal agents made entry into the residence and the individual was brought to an ambulance, where he has been transported to the hospital.” Trump has since taken to his trusted social media platform, Truth Social, to issue what he sees as a solution. In the post, Trump blamed the heightened tension in the state on “corrupt politicians” and “professional agitators.” The president has now warned that he is considering using the Insurrection Act and deploying troops into the state so that the tension can end once and for all. MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Trump threatens to use the Insurrection Act, allowing him to deploy troops, to 'put an end' to protests in Minneapolis. pic.twitter.com/yQAaDn8k9T— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) January 15, 2026 Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey issued a statement saying, “There’s still a lot that we don’t know at this time, but what I can tell you for certain is that this is not sustainable.”