Immigration agents shoot man in Minneapolis as tensions in city run high

Federal immigration agents shot a man on Wednesday evening during an enforcement action in Minneapolis, according to multiple sources in networks of legal aid and observer 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 shooting and the identities of those involved have not yet been released.The incident, first reported locally by the Minnesota Star Tribune, occurred as the city continued to reel in the aftermath of the killing of Renee Nicole Good by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent last week.There were dozens of observers on the scene, and federal agents deployed smoke and flash bombs. The shooting occurred at around 7pm local time, according to witnesses.The man was shot in the leg and was not fatally wounded, sources told The Guardian.The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request from The Guardian about the incident. In a statement posted on Twitter/X, the agency said: “At 6:50 PM CT, federal law enforcement officers were conducting a targeted traffic stop in Minneapolis of an illegal alien from Venezuela.”The agency accused their target of resisting and attacking, and said that two other individuals also “came out of a nearby apartment and also attacked” the officer, who “fired a defensive shot to defend his life”.The Guardian has not verified any of the details in the DHS statement. Following the shooting of Good last week, the DHS also claimed that Good had attacked the federal agent who shot her, seemingly contradicting video evidence that she was driving away from the officer.The Trump administration deployed a surge of officers into the area – which officials described as the largest in the Department of Homeland Security’s history – while protests erupted across the city and around the country in response to violent tactics used by federal immigration officers and their continued presence in communities, especially in Minneapolis, where Good was shot.Officers have used aggressive crowd control tactics against demonstrators, including the use of teargas, pepper balls and stun grenades, and administration officials have repeatedly defended agents, saying they are working under the protection of federal immunity.The DHS has also asserted that immigration enforcement agents are facing rising levels of violence from activists and agitators this week.Tensions in the city remain high. Earlier on Wednesday, Tim Walz issued a call to action to Minnesotans in an address that called on citizens to record the “atrocities” committed by ICE agents in the state “to bank evidence for future prosecution”.“Armed, masked, undertrained ICE agents are going door-to-door, ordering people to point out where their neighbors of color live,” he said. “It’s a campaign of organized brutality against the people of Minnesota by our own federal government.”Walz called on Minnesotans to “carry your phone with you at all times” to “help us establish a record of exactly what’s happening in our communities”. He also told residents: “Accountability is coming, in the voting booth and in court.”More details soon …