By Tim Evans and Renee Hickman
MINNEAPOLIS, Jan 7 (Reuters) – A U.S. immigration agent shot and killed a driver in Minneapolis on Wednesday amid an immigration enforcement surge, according to local and federal officials, the latest violent incident during President Donald Trump’s nationwide crackdown on migrants.
The shooting drew protesters into the streets near the scene, some of whom were met by heavily armed federal agents wearing gas masks who fired chemical munitions at the demonstrators.
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security said in a post on X that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer began firing after a “violent rioter” attempted to run over ICE officers.
“The alleged perpetrator was hit and is deceased,” she wrote. “The ICE officers who were hurt are expected to make full recoveries.”
Reuters could not immediately confirm the details of how the incident unfolded.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey blamed the Trump administration in a post on X for heightening tensions around immigration enforcement.
“The presence of federal immigration enforcement agents is causing chaos in our city,” Frey, a Democrat, said on X. “We’re demanding ICE to leave the city immediately. We stand rock solid with our immigrant and refugee communities.”
Trump, a Republican, has deployed federal immigration agents to Democratic-led cities across the U.S. through his first year in office, leading to backlash from residents. In recent weeks, agents have been sent to Minneapolis following allegations of fraud involving Somali immigrants, whom Trump has called “garbage.”
A dark-colored SUV with a bullet hole through its windshield and blood splattered across the headrest was seen rammed into a pole on the snowy street where the shooting took place. U.S. Border Patrol commander-at-large Gregory Bovino, who has led other enforcement actions in Chicago, Charlotte and New Orleans, was also on site.
Venus de Mars, a 65-year-old Minneapolis resident who lives near the site of the shooting, described seeing paramedics perform CPR on a woman collapsed next to a snowbank near the crashed car. Shortly after, they loaded her into an ambulance that drove away without its sirens on.
“There’s been lots of ICE activity but nothing like this,” de Mars said. “I’m so angry. I’m so angry, and I feel helpless.”
(Reporting by Tim Evans in Minneapolis and Renee Hickman in Chicago; Additional reporting by Heather Schlitz and Ryan Jones; Writing by Ted Hesson and Joseph Ax; Editing by Scott Malone and Paul Thomasch)
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