MINNEAPOLIS — 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 officers, 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 said on X.
No other details were immediately available. In the footage, bystanders can been seen and heard blowing whistles and taunting the federal agents, telling them to go home.
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.