In Minneapolis, tensions escalated between demonstrators and federal law enforcement from Wednesday night into Thursday morning following another shooting incident involving ICE, as city officials intensify their calls for the agency’s departure.

On Wednesday, an ICE agent shot a man suspected of being an undocumented immigrant in the leg during an arrest attempt. The Department of Homeland Security stated that the agent discharged his weapon out of fear for his life, citing the suspect’s resistance and alleged violent assault on the officer.

The injured suspect is reportedly stable and has been taken into custody, while the ICE agent is currently hospitalized.

This incident follows a fatal encounter last week in Minneapolis, where U.S. citizen Renee Nicole Good was shot by Jonathan Ross, a masked ICE agent. Ross fired at her vehicle through the windshield and an open window, shouting derogatory remarks as her car collided with another parked vehicle.

During a protest on January 14, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, federal agents used tear gas and pepper balls against the crowd. (Getty Images)

Democrats and local residents have condemned the shooting as a murder and called for Ross’ prosecution, while the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers have defended the incident by arguing that it was a justified shooting.

Protests continued on Wednesday after the latest shooting, with demonstrators using horns and whistles and officers deploying tear gas and pepper balls.

There were at least a hundred people at the scene, where officers were dispersing pepper spray, throwing pepper balls and using flash bangs as protesters tossed items at the agents. Demonstrators were also calling on ICE to leave the city and holding signs with phrases such as “f— ICE.”

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said a crowd was committing “unlawful acts,” including throwing fireworks at officers, and urged people to “leave immediately.”

“This is already a very tense situation, and we do not need this to escalate any further,” he said.

Federal agents clash with protesters as tensions intensified following a shooting involving ICE in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 14, 2026. (Getty Images)

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz urged peaceful demonstrations in response to the shooting.

“I know you’re angry. I’m angry. What Donald Trump wants is violence in the streets. But Minnesota will remain an island of decency, of justice, of community, and of peace. Don’t give him what he wants,” Walz wrote on X.

Walz also made an address to Minnesotans where he again called on ICE to leave the state.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who has repeatedly demanded that ICE leave, said the agency’s presence is not establishing safety for community members.

“This is an impossible situation that our city is presently being put in,” he said at a news conference, adding that the deployment of roughly 3,000 ICE agents in Minneapolis and statewide was “creating chaos.”

Federal agents respond to protests following a shooting involving ICE in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 14, 2026. (Getty Images)

“It’s certainly not creating safety when a huge percentage of the shootings that have taken place so far this year in Minneapolis have been by ICE,” he said. “So let’s be very clear. I’ve seen conduct from ICE that is disgusting and is intolerable.”

The mayor also praised people protesting peacefully but warned that others were “taking the bait.”

“We cannot counter Donald Trump’s chaos with our own brand of chaos,” he said.

“American citizens are getting picked up off the street by people in masks,” the mayor added. “That’s not the way things should be conducted in any city in America. That’s not who we are, that’s not America. So I’m calling for peace. Everybody has a role in achieving that peace. We’re going to try to do everything we can to keep it.”