Immigration agents shoot man in Minneapolis as tensions in city run high | US news
Federal immigration officers shot a man during an enforcement action in Minneapolis on Wednesday evening, according to multiple sources in networks of legal aid and watchdog groups.
In a statement posted online, the city of Minneapolis said it was aware of “a shooting involving federal law enforcement in North Minneapolis” and was working to confirm additional information. What led to the attack and the identities of those involved have not yet been disclosed.
The incident first reported The attack, reported locally by the Minnesota Star Tribune, occurred as the city continues to reel from the killing of Renee Nicole Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent last week.
Dozens of observers were at the scene, and federal agents used smoke and flash grenades. According to eyewitnesses, the attack occurred around 19:00 local time.
The man was shot in the leg and was not fatally injured, sources told the Guardian.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to the Guardian’s request about the incident. “At 6:50 p.m. CT, federal law enforcement officers were conducting a targeted traffic stop of an illegal alien from Venezuela in Minneapolis,” the agency said in a statement posted on Twitter/X.
The agency accused its targets of resisting and assaulting, while two other men emerged from a nearby apartment and “attacked” the police officer, who “opened defensive fire in defense of his life.”
The Guardian has not confirmed any details in the DHS statement. Following Good’s shooting last week, DHS also alleged that Good assaulted the federal agent who shot him; which contradicted video evidence that apparently showed him walking away from the officer.
While the Trump administration has deployed large numbers of police officers to what officials describe as the largest police deployment in the history of the Department of Homeland Security, protests have broken out across the city and across the country in response to the violent tactics used by federal immigration officers and their continued presence in communities, particularly in Minneapolis, where Good was shot.
Officers used aggressive crowd control tactics against demonstrators, including the use of tear gas, pepper spray and stun grenades, and administration officials have repeatedly defended the agents, saying they were operating under the protection of federal immunity.
DHS also alleged Immigration officials are reportedly facing increased levels of violence from activists and agitators this week.
Tension is still high in the city. Earlier Wednesday, Tim Walz issued a call to action for Minnesotans in an address urging citizens to record “atrocities” committed by ICE agents in the state “to gather evidence for future investigations.”
“Armed, masked, untrained ICE agents are going door to door ordering people to show them where their neighbors of color live,” he said. “This is an organized campaign of brutality against the people of Minnesota by our own federal government.”
Walz called on Minnesotans to “carry their phones with them at all times” to “help us keep a full record of what’s happening in our communities.” He also told residents: “Accountability is coming, at the voting booth and in the court.”
More details coming soon…
