MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minneapolis couple says that after inadvertently getting caught between protesters and immigration officers this week, an officer rolled a tear gas canister under their family’s SUV, flooding the vehicle with toxic fumes that left them and several of their six children, including an infant, in need of hospital treatment.
The Jackson family’s ordeal on Wednesday highlights how people in and around the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul are being swept up in the government’s largest crackdown on immigration enforcement to date, even if they aren’t among the many locals demonstrating against the operation.
Destiny Jackson, 26, said the family was driving home from her middle schooler’s basketball game when they reached a blocked-off street in north Minneapolis near where a federal officer had shot a man in the leg, after authorities say he attacked while trying to make an arrest.
Jackson noted that despite the chaos around them, the situation appeared peaceful at first, and they stopped to inquire what was happening. After getting stuck in the crowd, Jackson spent 20-30 minutes trying to convince her mother to leave.
As the situation escalated, Jackson heard flash-bang grenades and saw smoke in the air. Their attempt to leave was halted by federal officers who ordered them to drive away. Thinking they had a chance to escape as the officers moved past, Jackson was shocked when an officer rolled a tear gas canister under their SUV.
She described the chaos as her family was enveloped in gas, with her children crying and struggling to breathe. Her 6-month-old son’s condition grew dire as he stopped moving. Emergency responders arrived after calls report of respiratory distress in an infant. Thankfully, the baby stabilized but required hospitalization along with Jackson and other children.
Officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security stated the officers were responding to “rioters and agitators,” claiming they did not target the Jackson family. Since the incident, Jackson has faced online threats and harassment, but she maintains a resolve to highlight the experience of innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire.
The Jackson family’s ordeal on Wednesday highlights how people in and around the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul are being swept up in the government’s largest crackdown on immigration enforcement to date, even if they aren’t among the many locals demonstrating against the operation.
Destiny Jackson, 26, said the family was driving home from her middle schooler’s basketball game when they reached a blocked-off street in north Minneapolis near where a federal officer had shot a man in the leg, after authorities say he attacked while trying to make an arrest.
Jackson noted that despite the chaos around them, the situation appeared peaceful at first, and they stopped to inquire what was happening. After getting stuck in the crowd, Jackson spent 20-30 minutes trying to convince her mother to leave.
As the situation escalated, Jackson heard flash-bang grenades and saw smoke in the air. Their attempt to leave was halted by federal officers who ordered them to drive away. Thinking they had a chance to escape as the officers moved past, Jackson was shocked when an officer rolled a tear gas canister under their SUV.
She described the chaos as her family was enveloped in gas, with her children crying and struggling to breathe. Her 6-month-old son’s condition grew dire as he stopped moving. Emergency responders arrived after calls report of respiratory distress in an infant. Thankfully, the baby stabilized but required hospitalization along with Jackson and other children.
Officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security stated the officers were responding to “rioters and agitators,” claiming they did not target the Jackson family. Since the incident, Jackson has faced online threats and harassment, but she maintains a resolve to highlight the experience of innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire.
