A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent has been charged with lying about the non-fatal shooting of a Venezuelan migrant in the state of Minnesota.
Christian Castro, who is not yet in custody, faces a six-count federal indictment relating to the shooting on 14 January, according to the BBC’s US media partner CBS.
The Department of Homeland Security initially said he fired in self-defence after being attacked by three Venezuelan illegal migrants with a shovel and broom handle. Minnesota investigators allege Castro fired through a closed door, shooting the man in the leg.
It is rare for the current justice department to accuse a federal agent of breaking the law on the job.
In Minnesota, Castro faces separate charges of assault and false reporting of a crime related to the shooting.
Castro was one of thousands of federal immigration officers deployed to the Midwestern state during Operation Metro Surge, which sparked fierce protests and resulted in the deaths of two US citizens at the hands of agents during confrontations.
Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna and Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, who was shot in the leg and survived, were originally charged with forcibly assaulting, resisting or impeding federal officers.
After surveillance video raised questions about the agents’ version of events, federal prosecutors investigated them.
In February, ICE said two immigration agents might have made “untruthful statements” about the shooting. They were placed on administrative leave.
The charges against the migrants were dismissed, with prosecutors citing “newly discovered evidence”, CBS reported. Castro was arrested in Texas in May and detained for three months.
Minnesota’s top prosecutor asked for him to be extradited to stand trial, but Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he did not approve the request because he had “serious doubts” that Castro qualified as a fugitive.
Castro was released from custody in Texas last week.
Minnesota officials have said the agent discharged his weapon through the front door of a home “knowing there were people who had just run inside”.
The bullet went through the door and struck one person in the leg, making its final impact in the wall of a child’s room, they said.
In a statement to the BBC, Minnesota’s top prosecutor Keith Ellison welcomed the federal charges against Castro.
But he said the indictment did “not reflect the full seriousness of the violent crimes that he is charged with in Minnesota”.
The state’s case against Castro would continue regardless of the federal prosecution, Ellison’s office said.
By BBC News
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