Family videos and livestreams reviewed by CNN contradict the Department of Homeland Security’s account of a Minneapolis ICE operation that left Julio Sosa-Celis shot in the leg. DHS says Sosa-Celis resisted arrest and was shot after allegedly assaulting an agent; family recordings identify Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna as the person chased and say Sosa-Celis was shot while entering or locking his home. Sosa-Celis suffered non-life-threatening injuries; the incident follows another recent ICE shooting in the city and has heightened local tensions.
Family Videos Challenge DHS Account After ICE Agent Shoots Venezuelan Man In Minneapolis
Federal agents guard a perimeter following a shooting incident as angry residents protest their presence in the city Wednesday in Minneapolis. - Scott Olson/Getty Images
Newly obtained family videos and livestreams reviewed by CNN raise serious questions about the Department of Homeland Security’s account of a Wednesday ICE operation in Minneapolis that left a Venezuelan man, Julio Sosa-Celis, shot in the leg.
What DHS Says
In a Thursday statement, DHS said agents conducted a "targeted traffic stop" and identified Sosa-Celis as the subject. DHS reported that Sosa-Celis resisted arrest, "violently assaulted" an officer, and that two additional people emerged from an apartment and attacked the officer with a snow shovel and a broom handle. According to DHS, an agent "fired a defensive shot" that struck Sosa-Celis in the leg after the subject allegedly struck the agent.
Residents confront federal agents following a shooting incident Wednesday in Minneapolis. - Scott Olson/Getty Images
Family Videos And Witness Accounts
Family-recorded videos and a Facebook livestream present a different sequence. Multiple relatives and witnesses recorded calls and livestreams stating the person chased by agents was Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna, not Sosa-Celis, and that Sosa-Celis was shot while entering or closing the door to his home.
“Julio arrived first. They were chasing Alfredo — he had to jump from his car,” a partner says in a video call reviewed by CNN. “He ran and they threw themselves on top of him. After, Julio threw open the door, and they shot.”
Key Discrepancies
- DHS says Sosa-Celis was driving, crashed and fled on foot; family videos identify Alfredo Aljorna as the driver who was chased.
- DHS reports a struggle outside and that the agent fired when assaulted; family members say Sosa-Celis was inside or at the doorway and was shot while closing the door.
- Family videos record frantic 911 calls and a livestream from the hospital in which Sosa-Celis describes being shot while locking the door after helping someone inside.
Aftermath And Context
Sosa-Celis was taken to an ambulance and hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, according to the city of Minneapolis. CNN reported that DHS later reiterated its initial account that Sosa-Celis was the subject of the raid and had been driving the vehicle. Family members and relatives say they have been unable to reconcile those statements with the videos they recorded, and CNN has not been able to independently reach Sosa-Celis or Aljorna for additional comment.
Members of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension search for evidence Thursday near where a shooting by federal agents occurred the night prior in Minneapolis. - Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
The shooting is the second ICE-related shooting in Minneapolis within a week; one week earlier, an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Good, a mother of three. Those events have intensified tensions across the city and prompted national attention. Authorities have not released a complete investigative timeline publically, and questions remain about the precise sequence of events.
Note: This article summarizes widely differing accounts from DHS and family members based on official statements and videos reviewed by CNN. Investigations are ongoing, and some facts remain unverified.
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