Washington: Another person has been killed by federal agents in the US city of Minneapolis, less than three weeks after American citizen Renee Good was shot dead by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, which triggered a national outcry.
Video published by local media showed federal agents wrestling a man to the ground on a Minneapolis street before several gunshots rang out, and the man stopped moving. There was no context to the footage.
It was not immediately clear who the man was, nor the circumstances that led him to encounter the federal agents.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the man’s death, and said that he was carrying a 9mm semi-automatic handgun when he approached officers.
“The officers attempted to disarm the suspect but the armed suspect violently resisted. More details on the armed struggle are forthcoming,” DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said.
“Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, an agent fired defensive shots. Medics on scene immediately delivered medical aid to the subject but was pronounced dead at the scene.”
McLaughlin said the person approached Border Patrol officers as they were conducting a targeted operation against an illegal immigrant wanted for violent assault. She said the man was carrying two magazines of ammunition and no identification.
But she did not say who the man was, including whether he was an associate of the target, a protester or an American citizen.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said he had spoken with the White House after “another horrific shooting by federal agents this morning”.
“Minnesota has had it. This is sickening. The President must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now,” Walz said on X.
The City of Minneapolis said it was aware of reports of a shooting involving federal law enforcement near 26th Street W and Nicollet Avenue, south of the CBD, and asked the public to avoid the area.
Protesters and federal agents continued to clash on the city’s frosty streets following the shooting. Live footage being broadcast on US television showed officers repeatedly firing tear gas at demonstrators.
Tensions have been high since ICE began a major enforcement operation in Minneapolis weeks ago, and were turbocharged by the killing of Good on January 7.
In that case, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said within hours of the shooting that Good was participating in “domestic terrorism” and that the ICE agent shot her in self-defence, despite footage casting doubt on that narrative.
Officials are due to hold a news conference within the hour.
More to come
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Michael Koziol is the North America correspondent for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, Sun-Herald deputy editor and a federal political reporter in Canberra.Connect via Twitter or email.
