A Border Patrol member fatally shot an armed individual in Minneapolis, Minn., on Saturday at the intersection of West 26th Street and Nicollet Ave.
Minneapolis officials said the individual was a 37-year-old White man, a resident of Minneapolis believed to be a U.S. citizen.
At a press conference, Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino said Department of Homeland Security (DHS) law enforcement officers were conducting an operation targeting Jose Huerta-Chuma, an illegal alien with a criminal history including domestic assault to intentional conflict bodily harm, disorderly conduct and driving without a valid license, early Saturday morning.
During the operation, another individual approached U.S. Border Patrol agents with a nine-millimeter semi-automatic handgun, Bovino said.
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“The agents attempted to disarm the individual, but he violently resisted, fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, a Border Patrol agent fired defensive shots, Bovino said. “Medics on the scene immediately delivered medical aid to the subject, but the subject was pronounced dead at the scene.”
The officer involved in the shooting, according to Bovino, was “highly trained” and had been serving as a Border Patrol agent for eight years.
The Border Patrol chief called on state and local law enforcement to “help us coordinate to get violent criminals off the street.”
Bovino slammed Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara for omitting the fact that the suspect was armed when they held their news conference earlier on Saturday.
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“I want to reiterate what President Donald Trump, Secretary Kristi Noem, myself, Director Marcus Charles and so many others have said time and again, if you obstruct a law enforcement officer or assault a law enforcement officer, you are in violation of the law and will be arrested,” Bovino said.
President Donald Trump responded to the shooting incident in a post to Truth Social.
“This is the gunman’s gun, loaded (with two additional full magazines!), and ready to go – What is that all about?” he wrote in part. “Where are the local Police? Why weren’t they allowed to protect ICE Officers? The Mayor and the Governor called them off? It is stated that many of these Police were not allowed to do their job, that ICE had to protect themselves — Not an easy thing to do!”
DHS told Fox News shortly after the incident that the suspect was armed with a gun and two magazines.
“At 9:05 AM CT, as DHS law enforcement officers were conducting a targeted operation in Minneapolis against an illegal alien wanted for violent assault, an individual approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun,” DHS said in a statement. DHS said that the officers attempted to disarm the suspect, who then “violently resisted.”
“Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, an agent fired defensive shots. Medics on scene immediately delivered medical aid to the subject but was pronounced dead at the scene,” DHS said. “The suspect also had 2 magazines and no ID — this looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”
DHS said that following the incident, approximately 200 agitators arrived at the scene and began to “obstruct and assault law enforcement,” leading to the implementation of crowd control measures.
The Minneapolis Police Department asked for the public to remain calm in the wake of Saturday’s incident.
“We are aware of reports of another shooting involving federal law enforcement in the area of 26th Street W and Nicollet Ave. We are working to confirm additional details. We ask the public to remain calm and avoid the immediate area. Please follow the City’s social media channels for updates,” the Minneapolis Police Department said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
O’Hara said at a news conference that an “unlawful assembly” was taking place in the area of the shooting and urged the public to avoid it.
“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. We urge everyone to remain peaceful,” O’Hara said.
O’Hara said that there had been an emergency recall of all sworn personnel back to duty to handle the situation. While MPD is leading the charge, they are receiving help from the Minnesota State Patrol and Hennepin and Ramsy County sheriffs, O’Hara said. Meanwhile, suburban towns have aided MPD in handling the influx of 911 calls. He added that the fire department was working with police to “ensure that two small fires that were started in the area are safely extinguished.”
The police chief also said that the National Guard had been on standby “for several days.”
At the news conference, Frey condemned the shooting and gave an impassioned plea for the federal enforcement operation to end.
“I just saw a video of more than six masked agents pummeling one of our constituents and shooting him to death. How many more residents? How many more Americans need to die or get badly hurt for this operation to end? How many more lives need to be lost before this administration realizes that a political and partisan narrative is not as important as American values? How many times must local and national leaders must plead with you, Donald Trump, to end this operation and recognize that this is not creating safety in our city?” Frey said.
He called on the administration and those involved in the operation to “reflect” before calling out Trump.
“President Trump, this is a moment to act like a leader. Put Minneapolis put America first in this moment. Let’s achieve peace. Let’s end this operation. And I’m telling you, our city will come back. Safety will be restored. We’re asking for you to take action now to remove these federal agents,” Frey said.
Following the shooting, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said, “The scene must be secured by local law enforcement for preservation of evidence. We expect the federal government to allow the BCA to process the scene.”
The prosecutor also put out a call to the public to submit photos and videos of the incident.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz condemned the shooting and called on the Trump administration to end its operation in his state.
“I just spoke with the White House after another horrific shooting by federal agents this morning. Minnesota has had it. This is sickening,” Walz wrote on X. “The president must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now.”
He later said that he told the White House that Minnesota must lead the investigation of the shooting and implored them to “Let state investigators secure justice. As we process the scene, stay peaceful and give them space.”
“The State has the personnel to keep people safe – federal agents must not obstruct our ability to do so,” Walz wrote on X.
Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, both Democrats representing Minnesota, also spoke out following the shooting. Smith called the incident “catastrophic” and called on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to “leave now so MPD can secure the scene and do their jobs.”
Meanwhile, Klobuchar issued a message on X to the Trump administration and Republicans.
“To the Trump administration and the Republicans in Congress who have stood silent: Get ICE out of our state NOW,” she wrote.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., called the incident “an execution by immigration enforcement.”
“I am absolutely heartbroken, horrified, and appalled that federal agents murdered another member of our community. It is beyond shameful these federal agents are targeting our residents instead of protecting them,” Omar said in a post on X.
“This isn’t isolated or accidental. The Trump administration is trying to beat us into submission rather than protect us,” she added.
Omar accused the Trump administration of violating the Constitution “under the guise of immigration enforcement” and demanded ICE and CBP “leave Minnesota immediately.”
“Minnesota was once a place of refuge, and Trump has turned it into a war zone where unchecked federal forces murder our neighbors,” Omar added.
During a news conference on Saturday, Minneapolis Director of Emergency Management Rachel Sayre said that she had a background in international humanitarian response in conflict zones and compared the situation in her city to what she had seen in Yemen, Haiti, Syria, Iraq and Ukraine.
“What I’ve seen here is what I have seen there a powerful entity violently and intentionally terrorizing people, making them afraid to go outside so they can’t earn a living so that kids are forced out of school,” Sayre said.
The Border Patrol Union responded to the incident, saying that agents are “trained extremely well to protect themselves.”
“We have pleaded with and warned the media and the politicians that their irresponsible, hate-filled and false rhetoric is going to get people unnecessarily hurt, or worse, killed when they portray our agents and officers as the aggressors. They have encouraged these reckless confrontations and attacks on our agents and officers who are performing their lawful duties and enforcing the laws that Congress has put on the books,” the union wrote in a statement on X.
Tensions between federal immigration enforcement and agitators in Minnesota have been high since the fatal Jan. 7 shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent. Her death sparked a wave of protests nationwide and raised questions about the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Walz and Frey, as well as other Minnesota officials, have been highly critical of how federal immigration forces have handled the operation. Following the shooting of Good, Frey told ICE to “get the f— out of Minneapolis.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
