MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Authorities reported a shooting Wednesday involving federal agents in Minneapolis, where immigration enforcement has been conducting a major crackdown.
Live video posted online showed a large presence of federal and local officers, yellow police tape and cars that had been in a crash. Cmdr. Gregory Bovino of U.S. Customs and Border Protection was in the group.
“We are aware of a shooting involving federal law enforcement near East 34th Street and Portland Avenue. Please avoid this area,” the city government said on X.
No other details about the shooting or crash were immediately available.
In a scene that hearkened back to the immigration crackdowns in Los Angeles and Chicago, bystanders didn’t hold back in venting their anger, blowing whistles, taunting the the federal agents and telling them to go home.
“Shame! Shame! Shame!” they loudly chanted from behind the police tape.
After the shooting, Mayor Jacob Frey said immigration agents were “causing chaos in our city.”
“We are demanding ICE leave the city and state immediately. We stand rock solid with our immigrant and refugee communities,” Frey said on social media, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday that it had launched an extraordinary immigration enforcement operation, with 2,000 agents and officers expected in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area for a crackdown tied in part to allegations of fraud involving Somali residents.
The Immigration Defense Network, a coalition of groups serving immigrants in Minnesota, held a training session Tuesday night for about 100 people who are willing to hit the streets to monitor the federal enforcement.
“I feel like I’m an ordinary person, and I have the ability do something so I need to do it,” Mary Moran told KMSP-TV.
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Dell’Orto reported from St. Paul, Minnesota. Associated Press reporter Ed White in Detroit contributed.
