Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents shot a Venezuelan man in the leg in Minneapolis on Wednesday. Newly obtained video shows the incident contradicting at least part of ICE’s account of the shooting.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement on Thursday that the agent was “ambushed” by three men and in self-defense the agents targeted, chased and then shot the man. But the description in the video contradicts the identity of the man the Department of Homeland Security says federal agents are pursuing, as well as details of the shooting itself.
Federal agents were conducting a “targeted traffic stop” when, according to the Department of Homeland Security, undocumented Venezuelan national Julio Sosa-Sellis resisted arrest and began “violently assaulting” an officer. During the struggle, two other people emerged from a nearby apartment and attacked the officer with a snow shovel and a broom handle, DHS said in a statement.
According to DHS, Sosa-Sellis “escaped” and began attacking an agent “with a shovel or broom stick.” The agent then “fired a defensive shot,” hitting Sosa-Sellis in the leg, DHS said.
The three men who allegedly attacked the officer ran into the apartment building and barricaded themselves, before agents arrested the trio, DHS said.
But the video from Sosa-Sellis’ family seemed to tell a different story. One of the videos, reviewed by CNN, shows a video call made by Sosa-Sellis’ partner, in which she frantically describes to her family what she says happened, her mother Alicia Sellis told CNN.
The call appeared to contradict ICE’s statement in a Department of Homeland Security statement Thursday. ICE said the crash involved a vehicle driven by Sosa-Sellis, who fled on foot before agents struggled with him on the ground.
During the call, Sosa-Sellis’ partner appeared to indicate that the driver of the car was not Sosa-Sellis but Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna, another man detained by ICE during the same raid.
“Julio got there first. They were chasing Alfredo – he had to jump out of the car,” Sosa-Sellis’ partner said by phone. “He ran away and they jumped on him. Then Julio opened the door and they opened fire.”
The incident was the second time in a week that an immigration agent shot someone on the job, sparking violent clashes in Minnesota and prompting President Donald Trump to threaten to use the Insurrection Act. Just a week ago, an ICE agent in Minneapolis shot and killed Renee Good, a mother of three, in her car.
Sosa-Sellis was taken to an ambulance and hospitalized. The city of Minneapolis confirmed his injuries were not life-threatening. CNN has reached out to city officials to determine if he is still hospitalized.
In a statement to CNN on Saturday, the Department of Homeland Security stood by its initial statement that Sosa-Sellis was the subject of Wednesday’s raid and that he was driving the vehicle.
Facebook Live video challenge to Homeland Security account
In a Facebook Live video, family members frantically called 911 for help, and their version of events differed from the Department of Homeland Security’s statement.
In the video, family members tell 911 dispatchers that agents shot Sosa-Sellis as he tried to enter his home.
Residents faced off with federal agents after a shooting in Minneapolis on Wednesday. -Scott Olson/Getty Images
“They followed my husband for about 30 minutes. They tried to run him over. He got home and because we closed the door, they shot him!” a woman can be heard telling the dispatcher. It was unclear who was speaking or whether Sosa-Sellis was the person being stalked.
In the initial video, several family members can be heard asking dispatchers for help.
“Where did they shoot your cousin?” the 911 dispatcher asked the family over the phone. “On your legs! On your legs! Please help us! We have a baby!” one man responded.
“We have a baby at home!” a woman said in the background. “What if they shoot?” another woman asked.
“Do you know who shot them?” the dispatcher asked the group. “From ICE! From ICE!” one man replied.
As the live broadcast ended, the family continued to talk to the dispatcher on the phone.
Another video obtained by CNN shows what happened outside the home as the family waited inside.
In the video, agents can be seen approaching the house and setting off a flash bang. Smoke could be seen, crashing sounds were heard and someone said: “They’re coming in! There’s a dozen of them.”
Mother of detained man disputes DHS statement
Alicia Sellis also told CNN that she only spoke briefly to her son once in the hospital after the shooting. Sellis said she did not ask her son about ICE’s claims that he attacked agents with a broom or shovel.
“(Julio) called me just to tell me he was fine and to not worry and to stay calm and not cry,” Sellis said.
ICE said in a statement from the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday that the agent who shot Sosa-Sellis pursued him on foot after Sosa-Sellis crashed into a parked car. The Department of Homeland Security also said the agent “feared for his life” when he opened fire. But in an interview with CNN, Alfredo Alejandro Arjona’s mother, Mabel Arjona, disputed both accounts based on conversations she had with her son immediately after the shooting.
Arjona said her son told her he was the man being chased by ICE on foot and that Sosa-Sellis was already inside the home when agents shot him, not outside, where ICE said agents fired the shots.
“He told me, ‘Mom, ICE is chasing me. As soon as we got in, they shot Julio.'”
After Sosa-Sellis was shot and detained by ICE, Sosa-Sellis participated in a Facebook Live while in the hospital. In the video, he said there was a physical altercation between him and the agents as he tried to help Aljona enter the home before the shooting.
Members of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension searched for evidence Thursday near the site of a shooting by federal agents in Minneapolis the night before. -Stephen Matlen/Getty Images
However, he also claimed that he was inside the house when the agents shot him and the ICE agents were outside, separated by a closed door that Sosa-Sellis was locking and Aljona already inside.
“What happened was, ICE had been chasing my cousin from afar. He came here and tried to come to my house,” Sosa-Sellis said. “He was able to escape once he got there. We fought them hard. We were able to help my cousin get inside. When I tried to close the door, ICE shot me in the leg.”
“When my cousin managed to escape, he went inside the house,” Sosa-Sellis said on the live broadcast. “I closed the door. As I was locking the door, I heard gunshots and that’s when I realized I had been shot in the leg.”
CNN visited his home on Friday. The front door was boarded up and no evidence was found of its condition at the time of the shooting.
CNN was unable to contact Sosa-Sellis and Arjona directly for comment.
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