MINNEAPOLIS — The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office has charged an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in connection with the January shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis in north Minneapolis.
According to prosecutors, ICE agent Christian Castro, 52, faces four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime stemming from the Jan. 14 incident.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office alleged Castro fired his weapon through the front door of a home after several people ran inside. Prosecutors said the bullet struck Sosa-Celis in the leg before lodging in the wall of a child’s bedroom.
The charges state Castro was standing alone in the front yard and was not under physical threat when he fired his weapon. Prosecutors also said Castro was not struck with shovels, brooms or other weapons, contradicting statements included in a Jan. 15 Department of Homeland Security press release that remains online.
In a statement, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said Castro’s position as a federal agent “does not make him immune from state charges for his criminal conduct in Minnesota.”
The case is the second involving a federal agent charged in connection with Operation Metro Surge. Prosecutors said the case could be moved to federal court, but would still be prosecuted under Minnesota law by Hennepin County attorneys.
