Inspecting video claiming to show ICE agent accidentally discharging weapon while falling on ice

In early January 2026, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis fatally shot Renee Nicole Good, spurring backlash and renewed calls to abolish the federal agency. Following the shooting, a video began circulating online claiming to show two ICE agents slipping on an icy sidewalk, one of whom allegedly fired his rifle by accident as he fell. 

The video appeared on X, Threads, Instagram, Facebook and Reddit, garnering millions of views and hundreds of thousands of likes. The earliest iteration of the video Snopes could identify was posted on TikTok (archived) on Jan. 9:

Some social media users said the scene took place in Minnesota (archived), while others (archived) criticized the agent whose gun appeared to fire for keeping its safety off. In response to the criticism, others said the weapon had not fired at all, instead claiming the flash seen in the video came from the rifle’s flashlight briefly turning on (archived). 

Snopes could not locate a version of the video with the original sound or the exact location where the scene supposedly took place. The lack of street signs and other identifiable landmarks made geolocation impossible. Despite this, we found no evidence that the video was fake or generated with artificial intelligence.

We contacted the account responsible for the TikTok post above, asking where the user had obtained the footage. We also contacted the X user who claimed the video was recorded in Minnesota. We will update this report should we learn more.

Given the lack of verifiable information, we could not rate the authenticity of the video or confirm whether the rifle had fired. We invite our readers to send tips with any information on this video.

Short videos can point to AI generation, and we could find no version of the one in question longer than nine seconds. However, viewing the video several times at varying speeds revealed no signs of unnatural movements typical of AI-generated videos. Every version was blurry, making it difficult to read the words on the men’s vests, though the word “POLICE” was visible on both. ICE agents sometimes wear vests marked “POLICE.”

Playing the video at a quarter of the speed revealed a flash two seconds into the footage, as the man walking ahead slipped and fell to the ground on his left side. Immediately after, a weapon appeared to recoil. Meanwhile, a still frame showed the muzzle of what appeared to be a rifle clearly lit with a small circle above it and the light’s focal point, or the “hotspot,” directed on the snow across from it. This lends credence to claims that the rifle had not accidentally fired, but a flashlight attached to it had switched on:

(TikTok user @jensosweet)

The second man in the video also fell and the two struggled to stand afterward. 

Snopes has investigated several claims related to the shooting of Good, including the authenticity of an image that allegedly showed Good’s car driving directly into the agent who shot her.