Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey claimed ICE agents in the city were “causing chaos” after an illegal immigrant armed with a shovel “ambushed” an officer and was shot on Wednesday.
Frey blamed the nearly 3,000 federal officers deployed across Minneapolis as the reason for the disorder — which included the shooting death of 37-year-old anti-ICE agitator Renee Nicole Good — that has taken hold of the Minnesota area over the last week.
“The 600 police officers that we have are charged on any given day with investigating crime, stopping homicides from taking place, preventing carjackings. That’s the work of a police officer in a city,” the Democratic mayor said at a press conference after the shooting.
“Meanwhile, we have ICE agents throughout our state who, along with border patrol, are creating chaos.”
“This is not the path that we should be on right now in America,” he said.
The unidentified Venezuelan national was allegedly behind the wheel of a car and fled a traffic stop before he crashed into a parked car just before 7 p.m, the Department of Homeland Security said.
The migrant ran out of the car to escape before he was brought to the ground by an agent. He began to resist arrest and violently assaulted the officer as the two wrestled on the ground, according to a post from the agency.
During the altercation, two individuals came out of a nearby apartment and allegedly attacked the officer with a broomstick and shovel.
The migrant broke free of the hold of the agent and allegedly struck him with a broom or shovel before the federal officer fired a “defensive shot,” striking the first suspect in the leg.
The agent and the Venezuelan migrant were hospitalized and the other two attackers were arrested, DHS officials said.
The suspect was released into the country by the Biden administration in 2022, according to the agency.
After the shooting, protesters converged near the scene and started throwing rocks and setting off fireworks directed at law enforcement officials.
Frey told protesters to not “take the bait” and cause more destruction in the city.
“For anyone taking the bait tonight, stop. That is not helpful. Go home. We cannot counter Donald Trump’s chaos with our own chaos,” he said.
The mayor cheered the peaceful protesters that have descended onto the city in the past week but called for others to stop.
“For those taking the bait, you are not helping. And you are not helping the undocumented immigrants in the city,” he said.
Frey, alongside Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, shared a brief update with limited information following the shooting on the north side of the city.
The 44-year-old Democratic mayor and O’Hara described the shooting victim only as an “adult male” who was in a struggle with a federal agent.
Frey also claimed that ICE agents were being sent in to towns around the country, disrupting daily routines and forcing cafes to shut down because the owners fear their families might be torn apart.
“Imagine if schools get shut down and suddenly parents got to figure out what to do for daycare. This is not creating safety when a huge percentage of the shootings that have taken place so far this year in Minneapolis have been by ICE,” Frey said.
There have been three confirmed shootings in Minneapolis, including one fatal, between Jan. 8 and Jan. 13, according to shots-fired data published on the city government’s website.
The deadly shooting occurred on Jan. 8, when police found a man with a gunshot wound and he was pronounced dead at the scene in the Willard-Hay neighborhood, west of downtown Minneapolis, according to a press release. The shooter fled the scene and police have not announced any arrests in the shooting.
The City of Lakes has seen two ICE agent-involved shootings in the city this year, Wednesday night’s “defensive shooting” and the shooting that killed Good on Jan. 7.
Good was fatally shot after blocking ICE vehicles from driving through a residential street. She was confronted by agents as her car sat perpendicular to the road.
As another ICE officer told Good to get out of her vehicle, her spouse Rebecca Good shouted at her to “Drive, baby, drive, drive,” according to footage captured on Ross’ phone.
The 37-year-old mother of three turned her vehicle towards an agent at the front of her car and began driving forward, clipping the officer before he fatally shot her.
The mass influx of federal agents has centered around the Twin Cities since December and is believed to be the largest enforcement operation in history, according to ICE.
Frey clamored Wednesday night, saying his city was being “invaded” by the Trump administration.
“This is an impossible situation that our city is presently being put in and at the same time we are trying to find a way forward to keep people safe, to protect our neighbors, to maintain order,” he said.
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