Two women say man shot by ICE agent in north Minneapolis did not attack officer

Two women who were inside a north Minneapolis home when an ICE agent shot and wounded a man last week have given an account of that night that departs from the one first put out by federal authorities. Their statements appear in court petitions filed on their behalf.

The women are Indriany Syrisnoy Mendoza-Camacho, who is married to the wounded man, Julio Sosa-Celis, and Valentina De Los Angeles Tiapa Moreno, the partner of Alfredo Aljorna. Aljorna is the man who was reportedly being chased by the federal agent before the shooting on Jan. 14. Both women were detained that night and, according to their attorney Brian Clark, flown out of state. He has prepared habeas corpus petitions seeking their release and return to Minnesota.

On the night of the shooting, the Department of Homeland Security said on social media that the incident followed a vehicle and foot pursuit. DHS alleged that the agent caught up with the man being sought but was then attacked by two other men carrying a snow shovel and a broom handle. During the struggle, DHS said, the agent shot and wounded the initial subject, who then ran into an apartment.

The petitions tell it differently. The women say Aljorna was the person being chased, while Sosa-Celis was the one shot in the leg. They dispute that either man had a weapon. They say the officer was punching Aljorna and trying to choke him in the front yard, and that Sosa-Celis pulled Aljorna away to get him clear. "At no time did either Alfredo or Julio use or threaten to use a weapon," one petition reads. They say the two men ran into the house, and the officer fired through the door, hitting Sosa-Celis. A young child was in the room but was not hit.

The women say four adults and two children then ran upstairs as more agents arrived and fired tear gas into the house. They say the occupants begged agents not to kill them and said they would surrender, yet agents pointed guns at Mendoza-Camacho, who was holding her child. Everyone was detained, including children ages 3 and 1. Clark said the detentions were unconstitutional and that the women should be returned from Texas and reunited with their partners and children.

An FBI agent's affidavit, filed in the federal criminal case against Aljorna and Sosa-Celis, also differs from parts of the DHS account. It says Sosa-Celis was not the subject of the pursuit, but it echoes other elements. The agent who fired told investigators he saw Sosa-Celis grab a broom and hit him with it, that someone also struck him with a snow shovel, and that he fired "towards the vicinity of the assailants" as they ran toward the door. Investigators found a broom and shovel "strewn about the area," and surveillance video reportedly showed an altercation among three people.

According to the affidavit, Sosa-Celis said he held a snow shovel but never used it, and that he saw Aljorna possibly striking the agent with a broom before pulling him away. He said he was shot after the door was closed and locked. Aljorna said he threw a broom at the agent after breaking free and also said Sosa-Celis was shot through the door. The affidavit says investigators could not find a shell casing or bullet impact at the home.

Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigators, however, recovered a shell casing and a bullet at the scene the morning after, the agency said in a statement Thursday. The BCA said it has not been allowed to speak with the officer or given his identity, or told whether he wore a body camera, and that the FBI does not plan to share its initial findings. The agency asked anyone with video or firsthand accounts to write to [email protected], and said it will pass its findings to the Hennepin County Attorney's Office for review.

The BCA has previously said the FBI shut it out of the investigation into the fatal shooting of Renee Macklin Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, despite an early agreement to work that case jointly.