Contradictory Videos Challenge ICE Account of Minneapolis Shooting
Newly obtained videos appear to contradict claims made by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regarding a shooting incident in Minneapolis on wednesday, in which an immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot a Venezuelan man in the leg. The discrepancies centre around the events leading up to the shooting and the identity of those involved.
In a statement released Thursday, DHS asserted that the agent fired in self-defense after being “ambushed” by three individuals while pursuing a suspect. Though, accounts emerging from videos obtained by CNN challenge both the identity of the person federal agents were chasing and the details of the shooting itself.
According to DHS, agents initiated a “targeted traffic stop” that escalated when Julio Sosa-Celis, an undocumented Venezuelan national, allegedly resisted arrest and “violently assaulted” an officer. The situation reportedly intensified with the arrival of two additional individuals from a nearby apartment, who allegedly attacked the officer with a snow shovel and a broom handle. DHS maintains that Sosa-Celis then struck an agent with a shovel or broom stick, prompting the agent to fire a defensive shot. All three alleged assailants were subsequently arrested after barricading themselves inside the apartment building.
However, videos shared by Sosa-Celis’ family paint a markedly different picture.One video, a frantic call made by Sosa-Celis’ partner and reviewed by CNN, directly contradicts ICE’s account of the events. According to Alicia celis, Sosa-Celis’ mother, the call details a sequence of events that clashes with the DHS statement.She was heard telling the dispatcher.
Throughout the video, family members plead for assistance, expressing fear for their safety.”Where did they shoot your cousin?” a 911 dispatcher asks. “In the leg! The leg! Please help us! We have kids!” a man responds. “The ones from ICE! The ones from ICE!” another man exclaims, identifying the shooters.
another video obtained by CNN depicts the scene outside the home, showing agents approaching and deploying a flash-bang. Smoke is visible, and sounds of ramming can be heard, with someone shouting, “They’re in! There’s more than a dozen of them.”
Alicia Celis told CNN she has only spoken to her son briefly from the hospital, and he has not discussed the alleged attack with a broom or shovel. “(Julio) only called me to tell me that he is fine, for me not to worry, and for me to stay calm and not cry,” Celis said.
Mabel Aljorna, the mother of Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna, also disputes key elements of the DHS account.In an interview with CNN, she stated her son told her he was the one being pursued on foot by ICE, and that Sosa-Celis was already inside the home when the agent fired the shot. “He told me, ‘Mom, ICE was chasing me. Once we were inside, they shot at Julio.'”
Sosa-celis himself provided his account during a Facebook livestream from the hospital, stating there was a physical confrontation before the shooting as he attempted to help Aljorna inside. However, he also claimed he was inside the house, with the agent outside, separated by a closed door, when the shot was fired while he was locking the door. “What happened was that ICE had been chasing my cousin from far way. He came over here, and he tried coming to the house,” Sosa-Celis said. “He got there and he was able to escape. We struggled with them. We were successful in helping my cousin get inside. And as I tried shutting the door, ICE shot me in the leg.”
CNN visited the home Friday and observed that the front doorway was boarded up, offering no immediate clues about its condition at the time of the shooting.
CNN has been unable to directly reach Sosa-Celis and Aljorna for further comment.
