Patty Murray: ICE "should not be firing blindly through doors"
Patty MurrayU.S. senator for Washington
Sen. Patty Murray said evidence contradicts ICE's account that Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis attacked agents with a shovel, and called the shot fired through his front door reckless.
“Talk about reckless! ICE should not be firing blindly through doors and putting kids in danger.”
Official statement
Where this statement fits
Was ICE Officer Christian Castro Justified in Shooting Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis?
On January 14, 2026, ICE officer Christian Castro fired his service weapon through the closed front door of a north Minneapolis home during a foot pursuit that followed a traffic stop, wounding 24-year-old Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in the leg. The Department of Homeland Security said the following day that Castro had been ambushed and beaten with a snow shovel and broom handle by Sosa-Celis, Alfredo Aljorna and a third man, Gabriel Alejandro Hernandez-Ledezma, and fired a defensive shot fearing for his life; federal prosecutors initially charged Sosa-Celis and Aljorna with assaulting Castro. Sosa-Celis and Aljorna told investigators they had not attacked Castro, and habeas corpus petitions filed on behalf of their partners disputed DHS's account. On February 12, 2026, federal prosecutors dismissed the charges against Sosa-Celis and Aljorna with prejudice, citing newly discovered evidence materially inconsistent with the allegations; the next day, Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said a joint ICE-DOJ review of video evidence indicated two officers' sworn testimony appeared untruthful, and placed them on administrative leave. In May 2026, Hennepin County prosecutors charged Castro with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime, alleging he was not attacked and fired at Sosa-Celis and Aljorna after they had already gone inside the home, where children were present. In September 2026, following a monthslong dispute over his extradition from Texas, federal prosecutors separately indicted Castro on six counts of making materially false statements to the FBI about the shooting. Castro has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges; the state charges and the underlying dispute over whether his use of force was justified remain unresolved.
Source and context
Official statement
About this source
Official transcript with Murray's case-specific criticisms.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Murray said ICE claimed in January that Sosa-Celis, a DoorDash driver, was shot after attacking agents with a shovel. She cited a 911 recording in which a woman says someone was shot through the door, and a photo of a bullet hole in the front door, saying the bullet traveled into the wall and stopped between a child's bed and a crib.
After the quotation
She continued: "Will Republicans finally join us to rein in this kind of behavior?"
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is Officer Christian Castro's gunfire that wounded Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis. Murray calls firing through the door reckless and says ICE should not do it, which rejects the conduct. The closest competing label is Challenged characterization, but she condemns the shooting itself rather than just disputing ICE's account of it.
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More from this case
Read the full caseAmnesty condemns the shooting
Amnesty International
“unlawful use of lethal force”Read statement
Justice Department says indictment challenges Castro's account of the shooting
United States Department of Justice
“Castro was indicted on six counts of knowingly and willfully making materially false statements to the FBI during the interview on or about Jan. 14.”Read statement
ACLU of Minnesota calls the shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis a shocking attack
ACLU of Minnesota
“According to criminal charges later filed against Castro by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, Castro fired through the closed front door while standing in the front yard and under no physical threat. The bullet struck Sosa-Celis before entering the wall of a child’s bedroom. This shocking attack occurred at the height of Operation Metro Surge, during which federal agents committed some of the most flagrant constitutional violations we have witnessed in the United States since the civil rights era.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Patty Murray: ICE "should not be firing blindly through doors"". First published: 2026-10-07. Last updated: 2026-10-07. https://disputeindex.com/events/5168-sen-patty-murray-said-evidence-contradicts-ice-s