ICE officer charged with false statements in Minneapolis shooting

A federal immigration officer shot a Venezuelan man in the leg during an arrest operation in Minneapolis on January 14. The officer, Christian Castro, 52, fired at the front door of a home. The bullet hit Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in the leg. Castro later spoke to investigators about the shooting, but prosecutors say he lied to them. Federal authorities charged him with making false statements. Minnesota state prosecutors also charged him with second-degree assault and falsely reporting a crime. The federal charges came in September 2026, about eight months after the shooting. Castro was held in Texas, but an extradition dispute led to his release. The shooting happened when immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis were becoming more intense under the Trump administration.