Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ice) agent identified as Christian Castro was arrested in Texas after he was charged in the January shooting of a Venezuelan man in Texas. minneapolisMinnesota.
Castro was arrested after the Hennepin County prosecutor issued a nationwide arrest warrant, according to authorities.
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What really happened in the Minnesota shooting?
The Jan. 14 shooting occurred during Operation Metro Surge when ICE officers were trying to track down Alfredo A. Aljorna, an illegal immigrant in a car, according to prosecutors. Arjona ran back home, where Julio Sosa-Sellis was waiting for him with a snow shovel.
Authorities said Castro fired through a duplex door, hitting Sosa-Sellis in the leg. Prosecutors said the shooting endangered multiple people inside the home, including children.
Federal charges were initially filed against Sosa-Sellis and his cousin Aljona after the Department of Homeland Security claimed they attacked an agent with a shovel and broom, causing him to fire a defensive weapon.
Later investigations and surveillance footage reportedly contradicted those claims.
In February, the Justice Department withdrew the charges, and the Department of Homeland Security reported that two of its agents had been suspended for making misleading statements about the incident during testimony.
5 things you need to know about Cristian Castro
1. Castro’s claims are contradicted by the evidence. Initial claims that the officers were attacked with tools were cast into doubt by surveillance footage and subsequent investigations, leading prosecutors to drop charges against the Venezuelan man involved.
2. Castro lied about being attacked by two Venezuelan men. According to city security video obtained by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Castro was standing when he fired and was not knocked to the ground by Sosa-Sellis and Aljona.
The only medical care he received was abrasions to his palms, and officials later confirmed there were “no visible trauma to his body.”
Hennepin County Prosecutor Mary Moriarty also said last week, “He was not hit at all.”
3. Castro was arrested in Texas. Castro was arrested by the Hennepin County Prosecutor’s Office last week, and Minnesota State Police were following him to Texas on Friday.
Authorities tracked Castro to South Texas and arrested him with the assistance of Texas Rangers and federal investigators after a nationwide arrest warrant was issued.
4. Castro faces a felony assault charge. Castro, a 52-year-old ICE officer, faces four felony charges of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.
Castro allegedly lied to his superiors, claiming he was attacked with a shovel and a broom and that he only used the weapon in self-defense after being knocked to the ground.
He also faces a misdemeanor charge of falsely reporting a crime after witnesses said he fired into the front door of the home even though he knew someone was inside.
5. Castro’s fate. If Castro refuses to voluntarily return to Minnesota, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will decide whether to extradite him out of the state. Although Abbott has not publicly discussed Castro’s case, he has repeatedly expressed support for federal deportations and ICE raids.
