An officer shot and wounded a man in Minneapolis on Wednesday evening, federal officials said, in an incident that touched off clashes between protesters and law enforcement and came one week after an immigration agent fatally shot a woman in the city.
Tricia McLaughlin, spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement that federal agents were trying to arrest a Venezuelan man who was in the country illegally in a “targeted stop” around 6:50 p.m. She said he ran away from the agents.
When the policeman caught him, Ms. McLaughlin said he “started resisting and violently assaulting the officer.” He said two people came out of a nearby building, along with a man who was wanted, and attacked the police officer with an ice pick and a broom handle.
The police officer, fearing for his life, said Ms. McLaughlin, fired, hitting the man he wanted in the leg. He said the agent and the man who was shot are in hospital, while the other two accused of attacking the agent are in custody.
The federal government’s account could not be immediately confirmed. City officials said the person who was shot had “non-life threatening injuries.” The agent’s condition was not immediately clear.
Minneapolis residents have protested several times in the week since an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed an American woman, Renee Nicole Good, in south Minneapolis.
City officials say the latest shooting happened on the city’s north side, in the 600 block of 24th Avenue North. Mayor Jacob Frey and the city’s police chief, Brian O’Hara, announced plans to discuss the incident Wednesday night.
“Mayor Frey once again demanded that ICE leave the city and take control immediately,” city officials said in a statement.
As news of the latest shooting spread, at least 200 protesters gathered near the scene Wednesday night. Their group yelled at the Minneapolis police who blocked the road, and told the local police that federal agents should be arrested.
Several heavily armed Border Patrol agents arrived in a large, military-style vehicle without crime scene tape. The protesters attacked the car and shouted and threw the agents who were out. The agents eventually withdrew, and as they left, they fired at least two canisters of gas that caused a huge explosion that made it difficult for others to breathe.
Minutes later, at least two ICE agents arrived in an unmarked SUV and sprayed chemical agents in the faces of the protesters who approached them, causing one protester to say he could not see. At one point, a protester fired several shots at ICE agents and their vehicles.
Law enforcement used chemical weapons against protesters, and at least two people were seen being detained. The protesters destroyed an unmarked car and police lights.
A Minneapolis police officer who described himself as the leader of several protesters told them he didn’t know exactly what happened. “It’s not like they’re talking to us,” he said, referring to federal agents at the scene.
Federal Bureau of Prisons officers were seen performing crowd control duties along with federal troops. Officers from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension were also at the scene, although it was unclear if they had a role in the investigation. That agency was not included in the FBI’s investigation into Ms. Good’s death.
An estimated 3,000 federal foreclosure agents have swarmed the Minneapolis area in recent weeks, angering residents and local officials. The Trump administration has protected the export as necessary to curb illegal immigration and crack down on fraud.
Just before the latest shooting incident was reported on Wednesday night, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota gave a speech calling on the Trump administration to “finish this job.”
Victor Martinez, a pastor, said he rushed to the scene Wednesday night. Mr. Martinez lives far from the scene and said his concerns about ICE’s work have grown.
“It hits close to home, that’s why I’m out here,” he said when reached by phone.
Liish Kozlowski, a Democratic state representative, said Minnesotans should be “outraged” by the report of another ICE-related shooting, adding that “we’ve been signaling that they’re not here for public safety or fraud or anyone’s welfare, but to hunt and harm us.”
Julie Bosman, Orlando Mayorquin again Pooja Salhotra reporting contributed.
