Federal immigration enforcement action in Minneapolis escalated into a deadly confrontation on Wednesday, leading authorities to deploy crowd-control measures as tensions grew in a south Minneapolis neighborhood.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, federal officers were conducting what officials described as targeted immigration enforcement as part of a broader federal initiative that brought approximately 2,000 personnel to the Twin Cities area. During the operation, agents encountered resistance from a group that attempted to interfere with their movement.
DHS officials allege that one individual, identified by local reports as a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, attempted to strike officers with a vehicle. Authorities said an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent discharged his firearm after determining there was an immediate threat to law enforcement personnel and public safety. The individual was struck and later pronounced dead.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem later referred to the incident as an act of domestic extremism, citing the alleged intent to harm federal officers.
As information about the shooting spread, large groups gathered near the scene, prompting heightened security concerns. Law enforcement reported several confrontations as crowds grew, leading agents to deploy non-lethal tools such as pepper spray, flash devices, and pepperball rounds in an effort to disperse demonstrators.
By midday, authorities had established a controlled perimeter around the affected area while working to stabilize the situation.
Video footage shared on social media platform X by user Dymanh Chhoun appears to show an ICE officer firing a pepperball projectile after a demonstrator allegedly attempted to seize the officer’s weapon. The footage was recorded near Portland Avenue and 34th Street in south Minneapolis.
Chhoun noted that the gathering was in response to the earlier law enforcement shooting.
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