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A US federal agent shot and injured a Venezuelan immigrant in Minneapolis on Wednesday, heightening tensions in the Midwestern city after a woman was killed by a law enforcement officer last week.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said an officer had shot the man, who had arrived in the US in 2022, following a “targeted traffic stop” on Wednesday night.
The most recent shooting comes as an immigration crackdown and campaign of mass deportations launched by Donald Trump during his second term in office is facing growing opposition and becoming a political flashpoint across the country.
The DHS said the Venezuelan immigrant had attempted to flee from the officer and resisted arrest, assaulting the agent “with a shovel or broom stick” after two other individuals came to help the man escape.
“Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired a defensive shot to defend his life. The initial subject was hit in the leg,” the DHS added.
The shooting on Wednesday highlights how Minneapolis has emerged as a battleground in Trump’s crackdown after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents expanded their activities in the city, prompting a significant local backlash.
A week earlier Renée Nicole Good, a 37-year-old woman, was fatally shot in Minneapolis by an ICE officer while she was in her car after she challenged the activities and presence of the federal agents in the city along with her partner.
Good’s killing has reverberated across American politics, eliciting outrage from many Democrats as Republicans stood by ICE’s actions.
The White House and other federal officials have defended the agent, saying he was motivated by self-defence as he feared that Good would run him over.
A poll by Quinnipiac University showed that 54 per cent of Americans do not believe Good’s shooting was justified, while 35 per cent believe it was, suggesting the administration’s message is not resonating with the public.
Democratic state and local officials in Minnesota have reacted with outrage to immigration raids and the presence of federal agents, as demonstrations have spread across Minneapolis. Many local officials and protesters have pleaded for ICE agents to leave the city.
The City of Minneapolis on Wednesday night wrote on X: “This evening, one adult male was shot by federal immigration enforcement agents in the 600 block of 24th Avenue North. He was transferred to a local hospital with apparent non-life-threatening injuries. We understand there is anger. We ask the public to remain calm.”