Call for calm after man shot and killed during Minneapolis immigration crackdown

The person was shot amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, Governor Tim Walz said

Federal agents stand near the site of a shooting Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Minneapolis. Picture: AP Photo/Abbie Parr

Federal immigration officers shot and killed a man in Minneapolis on Saturday, drawing hundreds of protesters to the streets in a city already shaken by another fatal shooting weeks earlier.

The details surrounding the shooting were not immediately clear, but Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said the person was shot amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said a 37-year-old man was killed. He urged people to remain peaceful and not to destroy the city.

Mr O’Hara said there was limited information about the shooting. He called on people to leave the area and said it is “not sustainable”.

“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,” the chief said.

We urge everyone to remain peaceful. We recognise that there is a lot of anger and a lot of questions around what has happened, but we need people to remain peaceful in the area.” 

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told the Associated Press in a text message that the person had a firearm with two magazines and that the situation was “evolving”.

Mr O’Hara said the man’s only previous interaction with law enforcement as far as he knew was for traffic tickets.

“And we believe he is a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry,” he said.

Federal agents stand near the site of a shooting Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Minneapolis. Picture: AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

The shooting happened amid widespread daily protests in the Twin Cities since the January 7 shooting of Renee Good, 37, who was killed when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) officer fired into her vehicle.

Saturday’s shooting unfolded just over a mile away from where Ms Good was shot.

Mr Walz, a Democrat, said in a social media post that he had been in contact with the White House after the shooting. He urged President Donald Trump to end what the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest-ever immigration enforcement operation.

“Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now,” Mr Walz said in a post on X.

The DHS distributed a photo of a handgun they said was on the person who was shot.

After the shooting, an angry crowd gathered and screamed profanities at federal officers, calling them “cowards” and telling them to go home.

One officer responded mockingly as he walked away, telling them: “Boo hoo.” Agents elsewhere shoved a yelling protester into a car.

Federal agents stand near the site of a shooting Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Protesters dragged rubbish bins from alleyways to block the streets, and people who gathered chanted, “Ice out now”, referring to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

“They’re killing my neighbours!” Minneapolis resident Josh Koskie said.

Federal officers wielded batons and deployed flash bangs on the crowd.

The intersection where the shooting took place was blocked off, and Border Patrol agents were on the scene wielding batons.

The shooting happened a day after thousands of demonstrators protesting against the crackdown on immigrants crowded the city’s streets in frigid weather, calling for federal law enforcement to leave.

'Stand with Minneapolis'

Speaking at a press conference, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called for residents to stand up for the city while police chief Brian O’Hara appealed for calm.

“Stand with Minneapolis,” Mr Frey said. “Stand up for America. Recognise that your children will ask what side you were on. Your grandchildren will ask what you did to act to prevent this from happening again.

“What did you do to protect your nation?” In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, there was tension between local and federal authorities over who would lead the investigation and secure the scene.

Attendees hold signs during a rally against federal immigration enforcement at Target Center on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Minneapolis. Picture: AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis

Mr Walz said he told the White House the state must lead the investigation.

“Let state investigators secure justice,” he said. 

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."

The Department of Homeland Security, a parent agency of ICE, said a targeted operation was being carried out in Minneapolis just after 9am local time this morning.

Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin said “as DHS law enforcement officers were conducting a targeted operation in Minneapolis” against a person they said was in the country illegally, who she said was “wanted for violent assault”, “an individual approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun.” McLaughlin said that “the officers attempted to disarm the suspect but the armed suspect violently resisted” and that “more details on the armed struggle are forthcoming.” “Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, an agent fired defensive shots” she said, adding that “medics on scene immediately delivered medical aid to the subject but was pronounced dead at the scene”.

The scene remained tense this afternoon, with officers deploying tear gas against protestors with several arrests also made. Demonstrators made frequent reference to federal agents being “Nazis” and said that ICE should leave Minnesota.