Mayor Jacob Frey asks 'how many more Americans need to die' after latest Minneapolis shooting
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey delivered a forceful appeal on Saturday, January 24, after federal immigration officers shot and killed a city resident earlier in the day. Speaking alongside Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, Frey questioned how many more Americans needed to die before the federal operation in the city ended.
Authorities confirmed that the shooting occurred amid heightened tensions tied to ongoing immigration enforcement actions in the city.
Mayor Jacob Frey and Police Chief O’Hara address shooting and public safety
Frey called on Americans to “stand up” following the fatal shooting, directly appealing to President Donald Trump to end federal immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis.
“How many more residents, how many more Americans need to die or get badly hurt for this operation to end?” Frey asked. “How many more lives need to be lost before this administration realizes that a political and partisan narrative is not as important as American values?”
Frey described the federal presence as an “invasion” of masked agents operating with impunity and said that the operation was “not creating safety in our city.”
He urged Trump to “act like a leader” and to “put America first.” Frey added, “Let’s achieve peace. Let’s end this operation. And I’m telling you, our city will come back. Safety will be restored.”
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara confirmed that the person killed was a Minneapolis resident and said early information indicated the man was a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.
O’Hara said that, as far as the police understood, the individual’s only prior interactions with law enforcement involved parking tickets.
“The only interaction the man had with law enforcement, as far as we know, was related to parking tickets,” O’Hara said. He informed that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had not shared details with local law enforcement.
The police chief urged residents to leave the area, calling the scene volatile. He said an unlawful assembly had been declared and that multiple warnings had been issued for the crowds to disperse. “We are doing everything we can to maintain the peace,” O’Hara said.
Federal response and broader fallout
The DHS said that the man had allegedly threatened agents with a firearm during a targeted operation.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said agents were conducting an operation related to an individual wanted for violent assault when a person approached officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun.
“The officers attempted to disarm the suspect, but the armed suspect violently resisted,” McLaughlin said. “Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, an agent fired defensive shots.”
Medics provided aid at the scene, but the man was pronounced dead, according to DHS. The agency said the individual had two magazines and no identification.
Following the shooting, hundreds of protesters gathered near the scene, with some clashing with federal officers.
Video from the area showed officers deploying crowd control measures as demonstrators chanted for ICE to leave the city and blocked streets with dumpsters.
The shooting occurred just over a mile from where 37-year-old Minneapolis resident Renee Good was shot and killed earlier this month during an encounter with federal immigration officers, an incident that sparked sustained protests across the Twin Cities.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said the shooting happened amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and confirmed he had been in contact with the White House. Walz called for state investigators to lead the investigation and urged federal agents not to interfere.
