On Monday, prosecutors in Minnesota issued a nationwide arrest warrant for a federal immigration officer accused of shooting an undocumented immigrant and subsequently misrepresenting the incident during last winter’s ICE operation in the state.
The officer in question, Christian Castro, 52, faces charges including four counts of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon and one count of falsely reporting a crime. These charges stem from his alleged actions during the shooting of Venezuelan migrant Julio Sosa-Celis amidst a tumultuous protest against ICE in Minneapolis on January 14, according to the Hennepin County District Court.
During the incident, Sosa-Celis suffered a gunshot wound to the leg. Along with two other undocumented immigrants, he was initially detained under the Department of Homeland Security’s assertion that they had incited violence by attacking ICE agents.
At that time, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem issued a statement describing the incident as an attempted murder of a federal officer. She claimed the officer, presumably Castro, had been assaulted by three individuals wielding snow shovels and broom handles, prompting him to discharge his weapon in self-defense.
However, subsequent video evidence contradicted the officer’s account, leading to the dismissal of all charges against the three undocumented immigrants, as reported by the Star Tribune.
Castro was identified as the gunman during an interview at the shooting scene with a representative from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, as well as medical records from his subsequent visit to the hospital, the outlet reported.
Sosa-Celis, who illegally entered the country in 2022, was previously arrested for driving without a license and two counts of giving a false name to a peace officer but “released by Minnesota authorities before ICE could even lodge a detainer,” DHS has said.