Facts are technically correct but framed in a way that likely leads to a wrong impression. Learn more in Methodology.
Incident reports, medical records, and law enforcement statements corroborate that an officer fired a defensive shot and Sosa-Celis was shot in the leg during the described encounter.
Credible reporting and official DHS statements agree that a federal immigration officer shot Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in the leg during a targeted enforcement action in Minneapolis on the evening of January 14, 2026. DHS characterizes the incident as an ambush in which the officer, allegedly attacked by three individuals wielding a shovel and broom handle, fired a “defensive” shot that struck Sosa-Celis in the leg. However, independent outlets emphasize that DHS’s account of an ambush and the officer’s justification is unverified, with bystander video and family accounts suggesting a different sequence of events and state authorities opening an independent use-of-force investigation. The claim’s core factual element (an officer’s shot striking Sosa-Celis) is supported, but asserting as fact that it was a “defensive” shot during a confirmed “ambush” presents DHS’s disputed narrative as settled. The verdict is Misleading because it blends a verifiable shooting with contested characterizations of the encounter and its justification, while also appearing to misstate the year of the incident (2026, not 2025) as given in most contemporaneous reporting.