ICE agent charged in shooting of Venezuelan man in Minnesota
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent has been charged in the shooting and wounding of a Venezuelan man in Minnesota earlier this year.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office announced Monday that it was filing charges against 52-year-old ICE agent Christian Castro in connection with the January shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis in Minneapolis.
The charges against Castro include four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime.
According to county officials, Castro fired his weapon through the front door of a home knowing that people, including Sosa-Celis, had just run inside. The bullet went through the door and struck Sosa-Celis in the leg.
“Castro fired his weapon through the front door of the home while standing alone in the front yard, under no physical threat or duress, and knowing there were people who had just run inside,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in the announcement.
“Mr. Castro is an ICE agent. But his federal badge does not make him immune from state charges for his criminal conduct in Minnesota.”
The shooting took place Jan. 14 as part of a broader federal immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota aimed at deporting large numbers of undocumented immigrants.
In a press release issued at the time, the Department of Homeland Security claimed that Sosa-Celis assaulted Castro and that the agent acted in self-defense when he fired the shot.
Sosa-Celis was arrested along with Alfredo Alejandro Ajorna and Gabriel Alejandro Hernandez-Ledezma. All three are Venezuelan nationals who allegedly entered the United States illegally.
“What we saw last night in Minneapolis was an attempted murder of federal law enforcement,” then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in the January statement.
“Our officer was ambushed and attacked by three individuals who beat him with snow shovels and the handles of brooms. Fearing for his life, the officer fired a defensive shot.”
However, video footage released later appeared to contradict the official account, showing one of the three men holding a shovel before dropping it while another appeared unarmed and ran away.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons later reviewed the footage and concluded that two officers involved in the incident appeared “to have made untruthful statements” about what happened. They were placed on leave amid an internal investigation.
“Lying under oath is a serious federal offense,” Lyons said in February. “Upon conclusion of the investigation, the officers may face termination of employment, as well as potential criminal prosecution.”
