Minneapolis: Clashes in US city after second ICE shooting in space of week | US News
A Venezuelan man in Minneapolis has been shot in the leg by an ICE officer just miles from where a mother-of-three was killed by an agent last week.
The Minnesota city has been a focus of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, and tensions have flared since the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good.
She was shot in her car by an officer from ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) on Wednesday 7 January.
The Trump administration claimed the shooting was an act of self-defence by the officer, declaring the woman used her vehicle as a weapon to attack him – a version of events rejected by state and local officials who say a bystander video showed her steering away.
The latest shooting came after hundreds more agents were deployed to the city.
It took place about 4.5 miles north of where Ms Good was killed.
According to the Department for Homeland Security, it happened shortly before 7pm local time on Wednesday after a targeted traffic stop of an illegal immigrant from Venezuela.
“In an attempt to evade arrest, the subject fled the scene in his vehicle and crashed into a parked car,” it said in a statement. “The subject then fled on foot.”
After catching up on foot, the officer was “violently” assaulted as the man resisted arrest.
As they struggled, two individuals allegedly emerged from a nearby home and attacked the officer with a snow shovel and broom handle.
Minneapolis is on edge following another shooting involving ICE. Pics: Reuters
The statement added: “As the officer was being ambushed and attacked by the two individuals, the original subject got loose and began striking the officer with a shovel or broom stick.
“Fearing for his life and safety, as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired defensive shots to defend his life. The initial subject was hit in the leg.”
The officer and man who was shot are in hospital, while the other two people are in custody.
Protesters have since assembled near the scene of the shooting, and have been met by federal agents and police officers who fired tear gas into the crowd.
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‘Organised brutality’
It came after a judge gave the Trump administration time to respond to a request to suspend its crackdown in the city, with assistant attorney general Brian Carter telling a court “the temperature needs to be lowered”.
Governor Tim Walz has described what’s happening in Minnesota as “a campaign of organised brutality”, and said “accountability” would come through the courts.
The Department of Homeland Security says it has made more than 2,000 arrests in the state since early December.
The Pentagon is preparing to send military lawyers to Minneapolis to assist the government’s case.
