FBI offers $100K reward after protesters rip safe box from ICE vehicle in north Minneapolis
Following a north Minneapolis ICE shooting in the Hawthorne neighborhood—where federal authorities say an ICE agent fired a leg shot during a traffic stop and foot pursuit of a Venezuelan man—hundreds of protesters gathered and used ratchet straps to rip a locked storage box from a federal vehicle, dragging it down the street and attempting to break it open. The FBI says several federal vehicles were vandalized and government property stolen, has opened an investigation, and is offering up to $100,000 for information leading to recovery of the property or arrests, with tips accepted via 1‑800‑CALL‑FBI, local field offices, U.S. embassies/consulates, or tips.fbi.gov.
📌 Key Facts
- Federal agents say the incident began as a targeted traffic stop of a Venezuelan man who fled, crashed into a parked car, ran into a house and was shot in the leg by an ICE agent after an alleged struggle in which two other people from the house attacked the agent with a shovel and a broom handle; the wounded man and the agent were hospitalized and expected to survive.
- DHS publicly identified the three detainees as Julio Cesar Sosa‑Celis, Alfredo Alejandro Ajorna, and Gabriel Alejandro Hernandez‑Ledezma, described as Venezuelan nationals who were detained but had not been criminally charged at publication.
- Cellphone video from inside the home, shared by Sen. Erin Maye Quade and translated from Spanish, shows the wounded man on the floor while family members cry “Please help us, we have children,” a recording that critics say contradicts DHS’s terse self‑defense narrative.
- The shooting occurred near Lyndale Avenue North and 24th Avenue North in the Hawthorne neighborhood of north Minneapolis; MPD’s timeline places the 911 call around 6:50–7:00 p.m., the man retreating into the house, his removal by ambulance, and a large crowd subsequently gathering.
- Protesters chased a federal vehicle during the unrest, used ratchet straps to rip a locked storage/cabinet box out of a trunk, dragged it down the street and attempted to break it open on video; Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the vandalized vehicles belonged to the FBI and that documents were reportedly taken.
- The FBI opened a criminal investigation into the vandalism/theft, published tip channels (1‑800‑CALL‑FBI, local FBI offices, U.S. embassies/consulates, tips.fbi.gov) and is offering up to $100,000 for information leading to recovery of stolen government property and/or arrests.
- Police declared an unlawful assembly as hundreds gathered, reporting fireworks and objects thrown at officers; mutual aid was requested from the State Patrol and Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and officers deployed tear gas and flash‑bangs to disperse the crowd.
- The incident is the second federal immigration‑agent shooting in Minneapolis in a week — tied to Operation Metro Surge and the Jan. 7 killing of Renee Good — and has intensified neighborhood fear, disruptions to daily life, grassroots cop‑watching and renewed calls for independent investigations; President Donald Trump has publicly threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act in response to the protests.
📊 Relevant Data
The Venezuelan-born population in Minnesota grew significantly in the past decade, with estimates indicating around 2,003 immigrants from Venezuela residing in the state as of 2025.
Immigrants from Venezuela in Minnesota by City in 2025 — Zip Atlas
Economic and political instability in Venezuela, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has driven large-scale migration to the United States since 2015.
Venezuelan Immigrants in the United States — Migration Policy Institute
In Hawthorne neighborhood of Minneapolis, the population was 4,778 as of recent data, with 19.1% identifying as Asian ancestry, reflecting ongoing diversity.
Hawthorne Minneapolis, MN Overview — Weichert
Operation Metro Surge has led to over 2,500 arrests in Minnesota since December 2025, prompting lawsuits from state and local governments alleging arbitrary enforcement and violation of federal law.
Trump threatens to use Insurrection Act to deploy troops ... — CBS News
Venezuelan immigrants in the US had an incarceration rate of 241 per 100,000 in 2023, lower than many other groups, while the overall undocumented immigrant crime conviction rate is 41% lower than native-born Americans.
Illegal Immigrant Incarceration Rates, 2010–2023 — Cato Institute
Root causes of Venezuelan migration include democratic breakdown, repression, lack of basic services, and economic collapse, leading to over 4 million Venezuelans moving to Latin America and the Caribbean by 2023.
The Persistence of the Venezuelan Migrant and Refugee Crisis — CSIS
📰 Source Timeline (11)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
January 15, 2026
11:28 PM
FBI offering $100K reward in vandalism, theft after Wednesday night ICE shooting
New information:
- FBI has formally opened an investigation into the vandalism and theft and is offering up to $100,000 for information leading to recovery of stolen government property and/or arrests.
- The FBI confirms that 'several' federal vehicles were vandalized, broken into and had government property stolen around 7 p.m. Wednesday after agents responded to an assault on a federal officer.
- The bureau published specific tip channels: 1‑800‑CALL‑FBI, local FBI offices, U.S. embassies/consulates, and tips.fbi.gov.
7:09 PM
North Minneapolis ICE shooting: What we know so far
New information:
- FOX 9 pins the shooting location more precisely to Lyndale Avenue North and 24th Ave N in the Hawthorne neighborhood.
- DHS’s narrative is laid out in more detail: ICE says they initiated a targeted traffic stop of a Venezuelan man, he fled by car and crashed into a parked vehicle, then allegedly resisted arrest and was joined by two people from a nearby house armed with a shovel and a broom handle, prompting the agent to fire and hit him in the leg.
- DHS publicly identifies the three detainees by name and nationality: Julio Cesar Sosa‑Celis, Alfredo Alejandro Ajorna, and Gabriel Alejandro Hernandez‑Ledezma, all described as Venezuelan nationals allegedly in the U.S. illegally.
- The article confirms all three men are detained but had not yet been criminally charged at the time of publication; the wounded man is expected to survive.
- It documents the crowd response in this specific incident: hundreds gathered, fireworks and thrown objects prompted an unlawful‑assembly declaration, with tear gas and flash‑bangs deployed and mutual aid from State Patrol and the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office.
- It notes this is the second ICE‑involved shooting in Minneapolis in a week, explicitly tying it to the Jan. 7 killing of Renee Good and the resulting street‑level anger.
7:08 PM
Minneapolis ICE shooting: Protesters tear locked box from federal car
New information:
- During the north Minneapolis ICE shooting protest, protesters used ratchet straps to rip a locked storage/cabinet box from the trunk of a federal vehicle as the driver pulled away, dragging it down the street.
- Video from freelancer Brendan Gutenschwager shows protesters chasing the vehicle, then gathering around the detached box and attempting to break it open.
- Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she believes the vandalized cars belonged to the FBI rather than DHS, and that 'documents were reportedly taken' from one of the vehicles, though she did not specify what was inside the box.
1:51 PM
Minneapolis ICE shootings: Trump threatens to institute Insurrection Act
New information:
- Adds that President Donald Trump has publicly threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act specifically in response to Minneapolis ICE protests and clashes.
- Clarifies that Trump is framing protesters as 'professional agitators and insurrectionists' attacking 'Patriots of ICE,' and says he will deploy troops if Minnesota leaders do not stop them.
- Connects the threat explicitly to the Jan. 14 ICE leg‑shooting in north Minneapolis and the Jan. 7 killing of Renee Good, situating the law‑and‑order rhetoric directly on those Twin Cities incidents.
1:29 PM
Minneapolis ICE shooting: BCA launching independent investigation
New information:
- BCA publicly confirms its Force Investigation Unit is conducting an independent investigation into Wednesday night’s ICE shooting in north Minneapolis and has already processed the scene.
- DHS narrative is detailed: agents say they tried a 7 p.m. traffic stop on a Venezuelan man, he fled and crashed into a parked car, then allegedly resisted arrest and was joined by two people from a nearby house who reportedly attacked the agent with a shovel and broom handle before the agent fired one round, hitting the man in the leg.
- All three civilians — the wounded man and the two alleged attackers — were taken into custody; both the suspect and the agent were hospitalized and are expected to survive.
- FOX 9 underscores that, unlike the Renee Good killing, the FBI has blocked BCA access to evidence in Good’s case, and that exclusion is now one of the grounds in Minnesota’s lawsuit seeking to rein in Operation Metro Surge.
- The article ties the timing directly to the civil case: the same day, a federal judge denied a temporary restraining order to halt ICE’s crackdown but fast‑tracked the state’s lawsuit, ordering DOJ to respond by Monday, while Hennepin County Attorney and AG Ellison’s office set up an online portal to collect public evidence in the Good shooting.
12:31 PM
LIVE UPDATES | ICE in Minnesota: What we know so far about the second ICE-involved shooting
New information:
- Confirms the shooting location as near Lyndale Avenue North and 24th Avenue North in the Hawthorne neighborhood.
- Details DHS’s official account: a 'targeted traffic stop' of a Venezuelan man alleged to be in the U.S. illegally, vehicle fleeing and crashing into a parked car, foot pursuit, alleged attack on an officer, and two additional people allegedly striking the officer with a shovel and broom handle before the agent fired.
- States that the ICE agent fired one or more shots, striking the man in the leg; the man then went into a nearby house and refused to come out before being taken into custody.
- Confirms that both the Venezuelan man and the ICE agent were transported to hospitals and are expected to survive.
- Reports that the Minnesota BCA has now launched an independent investigation into this shooting — explicitly contrasting it with the BCA being excluded from the Renee Good case — and has already processed and cleared the scene.
- Provides operational protest details: hundreds in the crowd, mutual‑aid request to State Patrol and Hennepin County Sheriff, unlawful assembly declared, and use of tear gas and flash‑bangs to disperse people after fireworks and thrown objects.
6:08 AM
DHS: Federal agent shoots Venezuelan man after being ambushed in Minneapolis
New information:
- Alpha News foregrounds DHS’s official claim that the Minneapolis shooting of a Venezuelan man was an 'ambush' on a federal agent, emphasizing the department’s framing that the officer acted in self‑defense after being attacked.
- The article leans heavily on DHS talking points and omits or downplays conflicting details that have appeared in other outlets — such as bystander video released by Sen. Erin Maye Quade showing the wounded man on the floor while family members plead for help.
- The piece underscores how DHS is trying to reassert its public narrative in friendly media as lawsuits and local officials question the legality and proportionality of force in this second federal shooting in Minneapolis.
5:52 AM
Second person in a week shot by federal immigration agent in Minneapolis
New information:
- Confirms this case is the second time in a week that a federal immigration agent has shot someone in Minneapolis.
- Reports that AP and local outlets have a more detailed DHS account: a targeted traffic stop of a Venezuelan suspect, ensuing vehicle crash and foot chase into a house, and DHS’s claim that two additional people attacked the agent with a snow shovel and broom handle before he fired a single leg shot.
- Details that new cellphone video from inside the home, shared by Sen. Erin Maye Quade and translated from Spanish, captures the wounded man on the floor while family members shout, 'Please help us, we have children,' contradicting the tone of DHS’s bare-bones self-defense narrative.
- Adds a precise timeline from MPD: a 911 call around 6:50 p.m., the suspect retreating into the home, removal by ambulance as a crowd gathered, and a subsequent unlawful-assembly declaration and mutual-aid response to manage protesters.
- Situates the shooting explicitly within the context of Operation Metro Surge and the Renee Good killing a week earlier, highlighting mounting protests, neighborhood fear and political scrutiny of federal tactics.
5:48 AM
Fear and anger spread after another immigration shooting in Minneapolis
New information:
- Pulls together neighborhood reaction, describing how residents in the area where the Venezuelan man was shot now say they are afraid to leave home or interact with officers and agents, even for routine needs.
- Details specific examples of daily‑life disruption: immigrant-owned stores reporting sharp customer drops, families changing school drop-off routines, and people avoiding bus stops or walking routes where agents have been seen.
- Quotes Twin Cities officials, clergy and advocates who say the second shooting, coming days after the Renee Good killing, has turned the immigration surge into a full-blown legitimacy crisis for DHS and is hardening calls for independent investigations and limits on where and how ICE operates in the city.
- Captures how social media video of both shootings and of other aggressive arrests (Border Patrol kneeing a man, agents shoving a council member, etc.) are circulating in neighborhood channels and fueling the sense that federal forces are out of control.
- Adds context that some residents now see Minneapolis neighborhoods as 'occupied' and are organizing informal cop‑watch or legal‑observer patrols to film any interaction between agents and civilians.
5:34 AM
Minneapolis ICE shooting: Video claims to show man shot by ICE calling for help
New information:
- Publishes and translates a new interior cellphone video, shared by Sen. Erin Maye Quade, purportedly from inside the home moments after the ICE shooting.
- Audio (translated from Spanish) captures family members yelling, “Please help us, we have children! I have a baby,” and, “My husband was being chased for about half an hour… he came home and when we closed the door, they shot him. They were far away from us.”
- DHS’ detailed narrative that two additional people allegedly attacked the ICE agent with a snow shovel and broom handle, that the suspect struck the agent with one of those objects, and that the shot to the leg was described as a “defensive” shot during that struggle.
- Clarifies DHS’s version of the lead‑up: a “targeted traffic stop of an illegal alien from Venezuela,” alleged vehicle crash into a parked car, foot pursuit, then struggle and shooting.
- Confirms timeline from MPD: 911 call about 6:50 p.m.; man retreats into home and refuses to come out; federal agents ultimately enter and bring him out by ambulance; crowd gathers, unlawful assembly declared after fireworks and objects thrown at law enforcement; mutual‑aid response from State Patrol and Hennepin County Sheriff.