Live updates: Minneapolis ICE shooting, tensions flare after man is shot in leg after allegedly assaulting federal agent
The incident that led to intense clashes between federal officials and protesters began around 6:50 p.m. local last night when a federal law enforcement officer in Minneapolis tried to conduct a “targeted traffic stop” of a Venezuelan national who fled the scene in his car, the Department of Homeland Security said.
The man crashed into a parked car and then took off running. When the officer caught up with him, he resisted arrest and began to “violently assault the officer,” the agency said.
During the struggle, two people in a nearby apartment came out and attacked the officer with a snow shovel and a broom handle, DHS said.
The suspect wrangled loose and joined the other two in attacking the officer, according to DHS who said the officer fired “a defensive shot.” The Venezuelan man was shot in the leg.
The three individuals who attacked the officer barricaded themselves in an apartment before being taken into custody, the agency said. The officer and the injured man were taken to the hospital.
Demonstrators began gathering near the scene in the hours after the incident to face off with law enforcement officers who deployed multiple tear gas canisters and what sounded like flash bangs before officials told people to “go home.”
Video from a CNN crew at the scene showed two vehicles that appeared ransacked and vandalized, with the words “F*ck ICE” plastered on one, while another had “America land of the obey or die” written on it. The trunks of both vehicles were open with debris scattered on the ground.
A crowd could be seen following federal agents through the neighborhood, with a line of officers forming a wall behind yellow police tape to block off the road.
US Customs and Border Protection Commander Gregory Bovino was among those spotted at the scene.
City and state leaders called for calm. “For those who have peacefully protested, I applaud you. For those who are taking the bait, you are not helping, and you are not helping the undocumented immigrants of our city. You are not helping the people who call this place home,” Mayor Jacob Frey said during a news conference late Wednesday night.
