After accidentally getting caught between protesters and immigration officers this week, a Minneapolis couple said 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 harrowing experience in Minneapolis illustrates how ordinary residents are being inadvertently drawn into a significant federal crackdown, even if they are not among those actively protesting. This incident unfolded amidst what has been described as the largest federal operation to date initiated by the Trump administration in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Destiny Jackson, 26, recounted how their journey home from her middle school child’s basketball game was interrupted by a blocked street in north Minneapolis. The area was close to where a federal officer had shot a man in the leg, following an alleged attack during an arrest attempt.
Initially, Ms Jackson observed a relatively peaceful scene, prompting her to stop and inquire. She then spotted her mother on the street and spent up to 30 minutes attempting to convince her to depart. “I was just trying to get her to go home,” Ms Jackson stated. “I’ve only seen these things on TV. Some end well, some don’t.”
The atmosphere quickly intensified, with flash-bang grenades audible further up the street and smoke filling the air. As protesters gathered around their vehicle, the family attempted to drive away, only to be instructed to leave by federal officers.
Jackson said they waited until the officers walked past, knowing that an officer shot and killed Renee Good while she was in her vehicle. Jackson said she thought that was her family’s opening to leave, but an officer then rolled the tear gas canister under their SUV.
She said she heard a boom and the car’s airbags deployed. The canister flooded the family’s vehicle with noxious gas. Jackson said her kids were crying and screaming that they couldn’t breathe, so she rushed to unlock the doors and get them out. She said her 6-month-old son’s eyes were closed and he wasn’t moving.
First responders received reports of an infant experiencing respiratory distress, and local authorities said they worked through the crowds of people to respond. The fire department said the infant was breathing and stable but in serious condition before he was taken to the hospital.
Jackson said she, her husband and three of the kids received hospital treatment, including the infant, a 7-year-old and an 11-year-old.
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said officers were responding to crowds of “rioters and agitators” and did not target the Jackson family or “their innocent children.”
Since posting online about her family’s ordeal, Jackson said she’s received frightening threats and hateful messages.
“I try not to pay attention to the negative. I know what was going on. I know what my intentions were,” she said. “I was on my way home.”
