Federal Agents Kill US Citizen in Minneapolis Amid Immigration Crackdown

Federal agents shot and killed a 37-year-old US citizen in Minneapolis during an immigration enforcement operation, intensifying anger and protests against the Trump administration’s crackdown. Local and state leaders condemned the deployment of heavily armed federal officers, calling for an immediate end to the raids after video showed agents wrestling the man to the ground before gunfire. The killing follows other recent shootings by federal agents in the city, further escalating tensions and sparking demonstrations.

United States federal agents have shot and killed another individual in Minneapolis amid an ongoing immigration crackdown in the city, authorities confirmed, deepening tensions between federal officials and local leaders who have strongly criticised the enforcement operation.
At a news conference on Saturday, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said a 37-year-old man, whose identity has not yet been released to the public, died in hospital after suffering multiple gunshot wounds during an encounter with federal agents. O’Hara explained that the man was a resident of Minneapolis and a citizen of the United States, adding that local police were still working to establish the full sequence of events that led to the fatal shooting.
Addressing reporters, the police chief said city officials expected federal agencies operating in Minneapolis to follow the highest professional standards. “Our demand today is for those federal agencies that are operating in our city to do so with the same discipline, humanity and integrity that effective law enforcement in this country demands,” he said, stressing that the city would continue to press for accountability and transparency.
The deadly incident occurred during a weeks-long deployment of United States immigration enforcement officers and other federal agents to Minneapolis, where they have been conducting raids as part of President Donald Trump’s renewed push to tighten immigration controls and expand deportations. The presence of large numbers of heavily armed officers has alarmed many residents and local officials, who say the operation is increasing fear and instability rather than improving public safety.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz reacted angrily to the killing, posting a strongly worded message on social media shortly after the incident. “Minnesota has had it. This is sickening. The President must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now,” Walz wrote, reflecting growing frustration among state leaders over the federal government’s actions.
Video footage of the shooting, which quickly spread across social media platforms, showed several law enforcement officers wrestling a person to the ground before multiple gunshots rang out. The images sparked widespread outrage and renewed calls for an end to the federal crackdown.
The Department of Homeland Security later confirmed that a United States Border Patrol agent fired the fatal shots. In a statement, the agency said the person had a handgun and resisted attempts by officers to disarm him. Minneapolis Police Chief O’Hara later said investigators believed the man was “a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry,” raising further questions about the use of deadly force in the encounter.
The latest killing follows a series of recent violent incidents involving federal agents in Minneapolis. Earlier this month, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a woman, Renee Nicole Good, while she was sitting in her car. Just last week, federal agents also shot a Venezuelan man in a separate incident in the city, intensifying criticism of the enforcement campaign.
President Trump and senior officials in his administration have defended the deployment of ICE and other federal agents, saying it is necessary to fulfil the president’s pledge to carry out the largest deportation operation in American history. They argue that the crackdown is aimed at strengthening border security and removing dangerous criminals from communities.
However, many residents and elected officials in Minnesota have rejected that justification, saying the heavy federal presence is making neighbourhoods more dangerous and undermining trust in law enforcement. At Saturday’s news conference, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey delivered an emotional condemnation of the administration’s policies after viewing footage of the shooting.
“I just saw a video of more than six masked agents pummelling one of our constituents and shooting him to death,” Frey said. “How many more residents, how many more Americans, need to die or get badly hurt for this operation to end?” He went on to accuse the administration of prioritising politics over human life and American values, asking how many more deaths would be required before the operation was halted.
Other local and state leaders echoed those sentiments. US Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat who represents Minnesota, urged an immediate end to the deployment, writing on social media, “To the Trump administration and the Republicans in Congress who have stood silent: Get ICE out of our state NOW.”
In the hours after the shooting, the city of Minneapolis urged residents to remain calm and to avoid the immediate area as investigators worked to gather more information. Despite the appeal, protesters gathered near the scene, and footage from Saturday morning showed clouds of tear gas drifting through the air as a heavy security presence attempted to control the crowd.
Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera correspondent Heidi Zhou-Castro said the incident had further inflamed an already volatile situation in Minneapolis, which she described as a “tinderbox.” She noted that tensions between federal authorities and local and state leaders have been simmering for years, particularly since mass protests erupted in the city after the police killing of George Floyd in 2020.
The unrest comes amid a broader wave of opposition to the Trump administration’s immigration policies. On Friday, just one day before the latest shooting, thousands of people marched through the streets of Minneapolis to denounce ICE and the federal crackdown. Hundreds of local businesses closed their doors in solidarity as part of a general strike, underscoring the depth of public anger and concern over the escalating use of force by federal agents in the city.