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Man Shot & Killed By Fed Agents In Minneapolis; DHS Says Man Was Armed. Man Shot and Killed by Fed. Agents in Minneapolis; Minnesota Governor Demands Shooting Investigation be Led by the State; President Trump Briefed on fatal shooting involving fed. Agents. Aired 1-2p ET
Aired January 24, 2026 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[13:00:00]
RACHEL SAYRE, MINNEAPOLIS DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: -- are ceasing participation in public life, afraid to even go to the doctor. In response, the city enterprise continues to utilize our entire emergency apparatus. That means staff across departments, often around the clock, are putting their regular jobs on hold in order to respond to the impacts of Metro's surge.
I want everyone to know there are numerous resources available to community members right now. We have mental health help available. We have food assistance, housing and rental assistance, legal help. We are sharing information about what to do if you are exposed to tear gas, pepper spray, or other chemical agents. And the state AGs and ACLU are collecting reports of rights violations.
You can access these resources on the city's virtual resource center at minneapolismn.gov/ice. Please share this information with your neighbors. We have help and we want you to be able to access that.
My background is an international humanitarian response in conflict zones in Yemen, Haiti, Syria, Iraq, and Ukraine. What I've seen here is what I've seen there. A powerful entity violently and intentionally terrorizing people, making them afraid to go outside so they can't earn a living, so that kids are forced out of school. This has a lasting generational impact.
People can't plan a single day of their lives because they don't know who was around the corner and if their family member or a neighbor is about to be taken away. In these times, you see both the best and the worst. The worst is the terror and the feeling of helplessness. The best is -- will continue to be our community's response.
The way we are showing up for each other, that is in the absolute worst of times. We're showing up for each other in the absolute worst of times.
I'll turn it back to the mayor. Thank you.
MAYOR JACOB FREY (D), MINNEAPOLIS: We'll open it to questions. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are seeing an incredible volatile situation unfolding right now around that scene. Is there any communication right now between local and federal law enforcement or cooperation or where do those efforts stand to try to calm what's going on down there right now?
FREY: I'll turn it to the chief to answer.
CHIEF BRIAN O'HARA, MINNEAPOLIS POLICE DEPARTMENT: So the question was, there is an incredibly volatile scene in south Minneapolis right now and the extent to -- of communication with law enforcement agencies. We have established a command post that is led by Minneapolis police and there are representatives from all of the regional, local, county, and state organizations.
We have had communication with Homeland Security but they have not been able to provide us any specific details around the incident itself. We are responsible for ensuring the safety of people on the streets of our city and we are doing everything that we can to maintain the peace right now, led by Minneapolis police, but with the help of the Minnesota State Patrol, Hennepin and Ramsey County sheriffs, several suburban towns are in the city helping us with 911 calls.
We have done an emergency recall of all sworn personnel back to duty and we are working with the fire department right now to ensure that two small fires that were started in the area are safely extinguished. But again, we need everyone to avoid the area if possible and the people who are in the area, we understand your frustrations. This is not sustainable. But we need people to leave the area at this time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is the National Guard involved?
O'HARA: We have communicated with the National Guard. They have been on standby for several days and we have ensured the National Guard, as well as all of the local law enforcement partners, are aware of the situation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Chief and Mayor, if I can ask you, this is a statement from Tricia McLaughlin, spokesperson for DHS. She said in her statement, "An individual approached U.S. Border Patrol officers with a 9 millimeter semi-automatic handgun," seen here, they showed a picture of it.
"The officers attempted to disarm the suspect, but the armed suspect violently resisted. More details on the armed struggle are forthcoming. Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, an agent fired defensive shots. Medics on the scene immediately delivered medical aid." Can you -- is that what happened?
O'HARA: So Minneapolis Police, the question was, you read a statement from DHS --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
O'HARA: -- saying that a weapon was presented -- UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
O'HARA: -- and there was attempts to disarm the person. Again, like I stated earlier, Minneapolis Police, as well as, you know, our supervisors, our watch commander, responded to the scene. We were not provided any public safety statement around the incident, what happened.
[13:05:08]
We have since seen a video that is circulating online, like thousands of other people have at this time. So we do not know what happened prior to the recording that is online right now. We -- I immediately called for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to respond, to conduct an investigation. They are on the scene. I believe the FBI is on the scene as well.
But I think the video speaks for itself. What I can tell you is we have identified this person, 37-year-old white male, resident of the city. The only interaction that we are aware of with law enforcement has been for traffic tickets. And we believe he is a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chief, can you clarify, was MPD cut out of this investigation? Has the BCA been cut out, like we've seen from the two previous shootings?
O'HARA: The question was, has MPD been cut out of the investigation? And has the BCA been cut out? As I stated, I immediately requested the BCA to respond. It's my understanding that they are on the scene. I have not heard anything otherwise.
There was initially some information was relayed to me over the radio that we were -- our officers were told that they were either not needed or could leave. And I gave a direct order to ensure that Minneapolis police maintain the scene, as well as other state and local law enforcement.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you talk about the discrepancy --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Chief O'Hara, do you know whether it was multiple officers involved in the shooting or one officer? And do you know their whereabouts? Are they in custody at all or still on the scene?
O'HARA: So the question was, was -- is there multiple officers involved in the shooting? That is the preliminary information. That is our understanding, that it was more than one law enforcement officer involved in the discharge. And again, there is public video that shows several law enforcement officers in a scuffle with someone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you talk about the discrepancy? Initial reports said that the victim here was 51 years old. The information that you have, where is that from?
O'HARA: So the question was, initial reports said the victim was 51. The information that I have is, we sent Minneapolis police officers to the hospital with the individual who was shot, and they have since identified that person.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two more questions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have a name of the individual who was shot?
O'HARA: I do, and I'm not releasing it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you able to talk -- have you been able to talk with top ICE and Border Patrol officials to ask them to please be in on this, or have you talked to them, or have you been rejected?
O'HARA: The question was, have we talked with federal law enforcement to be in on this? We have had conversations with Homeland Security Investigations this morning. We were told they do not have any information to share at this time, but we will attempt to maintain those communications going forward.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you believe that? Do you believe that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Last question. Last question.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you believe that they have no information to share at this time?
O'HARA: The question was, do I believe that they have no information to share at this time? I don't know if the individual that we were in contact with would or not. This is a Saturday morning. And just like it was for us, it was a scramble to do an emergency recall and to get people to the scene.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right, thank you, guys. We all have more information if we get any later throughout the day.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, you're listening to a press conference involving the Minneapolis City Mayor, as well as the police chief there, and you heard the Police Chief, Brian O'Hara, saying they do know the identity of the 37-year-old man who was killed, but they're not releasing the person's name.
They only described him as a 37-year-old white male who was a Minneapolis resident, an American citizen, and the police chief saying that he was a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry. However, you also heard the police chief and the mayor there describe the video as very disturbing, the video that has been circulating around.
The police chief underscoring that federal authorities have not shared information with what federal authorities seem to -- how federal authorities are assessing the situation as to why this suspect was detained, why there were so many officers on top of the person. You heard the mayor describe it as very unsettling, saying to see a number of people on top of this suspect, pummeling him is how he described it, six masked agents pummeling the resident and then shooting him to death.
So a lot of unanswered questions, but that's the assessment they were getting thus far from city authorities, who again are underscoring they're not getting the cooperation with federal authorities.
CNN's Shimon Prokupecz is with us now to explain kind of the background for what is now a second deadly shooting taking place there in Minneapolis involving federal authorities. This seems to be very different from what the nation witnessed, Shimon, a few weeks ago involving the death of Renee Good.
[13:10:09]
She was in her vehicle. And the White House and DHS coming out very quickly saying that she was acting as like a domestic terrorist. And now this incident, we only have the point of view of federal authorities who say he was armed and now has been shot dead by federal authorities.
SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, for one, Fred, there is just a lot more anger in the streets of Minneapolis, right? So I was there last week and I was there the week before, and this has been building up. So anytime you're going to have an incident like this, certainly there's going to be a different kind of escalation.
I mean, there is so much anger, there's so much fear in this community. And so what you're seeing here is obviously all of that play out. What's not happening, and I think this is so important that -- to talk about, is de-escalation. There is no de-escalation going on here. And that is one of the biggest, biggest problems right now in Minneapolis.
You have Border Patrol, SWAT team, and BORTAC and Border Patrol, and all of these special units who don't operate normally in the interior of our country and are now faced -- come face to face with protesters who are yelling and throwing things and doing things to agitate and to create problems. But also there are a number of peaceful protesters there, right, who are standing around and yelling and screaming.
And what you're seeing is an escalation here by these federal agents using these non-lethal gases and pepper balls and smoke and flashbangs. And the question has to be, like, does that escalate the situation or does that de-escalate? I think what we're seeing now on our screen, which could help de-escalate some of this, is the local police and the state police now coming on the scene.
We had not seen them in the beginning moments of this. The local police, the state police who have a lot of experience in how to deal with these situations, either they can be a little more temperate and they could sort of not maybe escalate the situation. I think that's the key right now.
There's got to be a way for these law enforcement officials to de- escalate the situation. I think when we hear the Police Chief, Brian O'Hara, there speak, I have talked to him. I know him. He has made a commitment to this community, certainly since George Floyd, to try and build a relationship with them for things to get better so that this community can feel safe and can feel that they have a connection to their law enforcement. And that is all in jeopardy now. So this is very, very personal for him. And you can hear that in his voice --
WHITFIELD: Yes.
PROKUPECZ: -- because he's worked so hard to get here. And the other thing I think that's so important when you're hearing him, I think it's very troubling that the federal officials are not sharing any information with the local officials. If the chief, the local police chief, could stand there and give the facts as he knows it, whatever they may be, that this man was armed, that this man perhaps was, as DHS is claiming, targeting them.
If he could stand there and provide that information, that may help de-escalate the situation. But instead, it seems because there's such a bad, bad and terrible relationship between the feds and the state and the local police, there is no communication. And it doesn't do anybody any good when the police chief is standing there and says, I don't know. All I know is what this video that I've seen.
And it's a horrific video and it portrays a certain perspective. And so that is why we're seeing what's happening on the street here. And then I think also for the mayor, I think everyone here needs to figure out how to de-escalate this situation.
I think it's very troubling, like I said, that they have not been able to provide them with any information. And I also think we're starting to see that some of the federal agents have pulled back. They're still there. Obviously, you could see them.
But the question now is, do they try to de-escalate the situation and try to not use some of the tear gas and pepper balls and the flashbangs and the smoke that we've been seeing? I think it's very concerning, certainly, that you're starting to see protesters move items into the street, the dumpsters and setting things on fire. All of this just escalates the situation.
And right now, it's very clear what's happening there, that they need to de-escalate. And --
WHITFIELD: Yes.
PROKUPECZ: -- that is where I think the local police and the state police can come in and have an opportunity to try and do that. Because, you know, I was at out of the Bovino -- one of the Bovino press conferences last week, they are not leaving, no matter what happens here.
[13:15:05]
They clearly have dug in and they have indicated that they have no intention on leaving, no matter what happens. And so how do things get better? I mean, this -- everything right now in this community is broken. These protesters are very organized.
The observers, the ICE watchers and the people who follow ICE around and follow the federal agents around, they are very organized. They know every vehicle the federal agents are driving. They know what to look for. And they immediately notify, they have -- they communicate, and they immediately notify when something happens or when they see something suspicious happening, federal agents in their neighborhoods, and they notify the other observers and the other community members who are part of this network, and they just swarm.
They come in and they surround the federal agents. They blow whistles. They antagonize. They yell. They scream. They tell them to get out of the neighborhood. And it does make the ICE officers and the federal agents' jobs much more difficult.
But does it deserve this kind of escalation? And I think we need to learn, obviously, more about this man and what happened here, because the pictures right now and what the police chief is describing and what the mayor is describing certainly is only going to escalate what's happening here.
So, you know, hopefully, you know, we're starting to see some calm there based on the pictures that I'm seeing. I hope, you know, obviously, all we can do is hope that it continues, because it is very sad for this community and for the people who live here to live this way. There are plenty of people who are not even involved in anything that's going on here, and they cannot leave their homes.
They're afraid to send their kids to school. They're afraid to go to church. They're afraid to live their lives. So something here has to give at some point.
WHITFIELD: Yes, you heard it described by one of the city officials there, you know, saying it is impacting day-to-day life. It's impacting businesses. Shops are closing. People are afraid to go to their doctor. And it is difficult to discern what is happening right now as we look at these live pictures.
Yes, we see the presence of federal authorities there, at least people, you know, who appear to be masked agents, et cetera. And then you see another point of view where you see what appear to be people who are there in protest. But we're not seeing the tear gas going off right here. But last hour, we were, so unclear whether any real change in methodology is happening here.
But, Shimon, thank you so much for your assessment there. And, of course, we heard from the police chief, as well as the city mayor there, all expressing real frustration about a lack of sharing of information between federal authorities and local authorities here.
And you heard the police chief there nearly exasperated, really talking about how Minneapolis police has been asking for people to disperse, try to remain calm. And I'm quoting him now, "don't destroy our own city."
All right, Betsy Klein is at the White House there, Senior White House Reporter. What are you hearing, Betsy? You heard in that press conference a question from a reporter asking the police chief of a point of view coming from the Department of Homeland Security. And he said, you know, point blank, federal authorities are not sharing information with him and his office. So what are you hearing?
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, certainly, Fredricka, this is a very fluid and evolving situation. Officials have acknowledged that to us. We also heard from local officials on the ground who said that it is a quite volatile situation. But we know that President Trump has been briefed, according to a White House official, and the Trump administration is monitoring all of this and the reaction to it extremely closely.
I want to call your attention to some notable comments from the mayor of Minneapolis. He said, quote, "This is a moment to act like a leader." He was directly addressing the president there. He told him to end this operation, take action now to remove federal agents.
And it comes as there has been somewhat of a shift in tone in recent weeks from President Trump and Vice President JD Vance. They have acknowledged in recent days that ICE officers and other federal agents can make mistakes.
Now, with that in mind, I want to read to you a good portion of this statement from Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin. She says, quote, "At 9:05 a.m. Central Time, as DHS law enforcement officers were conducting a targeted operation in Minneapolis against an illegal alien wanted for violent assault, an individual approached U.S. Border Patrol officers with a 9 millimeter semi-automatic handgun, seen here." She includes a photo of that handgun, a SIG Sauer.
"The officers," she goes on to say, "attempted to disarm the suspect, but the armed suspect violently resisted. More details on the armed struggle are forthcoming. 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.
The suspect also had two magazines and no ID. This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement."
[13:20:18]
So certainly, from the last sentence of that, no signs of de- escalation at this point from the Trump administration, and it comes as tensions on the ground are so high. This is the third shooting this month by a federal officer. The first, of course, was January 7th, the deadly shooting of Renee Good.
There was also one week later, an ICE agent shot a Venezuelan immigrant who they said was resisting arrest. He had non-life- threatening injuries. And now this situation as officials on the ground are asking for a cooling of tensions.
WHITFIELD: Yes, three shootings involving federal authorities, but now the second deadly of those three.
Betsy Klein, thank you so much. We'll check back with you. And we'll be right back with more of our continuing coverage of this latest deadly shooting in Minneapolis.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:25:48]
WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. We continue to follow a second deadly shooting involving federal authorities out of Minneapolis. We do have video now that we're able to share with you. It is very disturbing for anyone who may not want to see this incident. You may want to move out of the room temporarily and then return back to us where we will evaluate and talk further about this investigation.
Again, Minneapolis police say they have not been given details from federal authorities about the circumstances leading up to this shooting, nor details about their investigation. But Minneapolis police do say that they have identified the victim as a 37-year-old white male.
So, again, we do want to warn you, the video is disturbing. And here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're doing too much, man. And they keep pushing people, you know.
(GUN SHOT)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What the (INAUDIBLE). They killed him (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you (INAUDIBLE) kidding me, dude? Not again. Are you (INAUDIBLE) kidding me? That guy is dead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And of course, you hear the people who are near the location where that was being videotaped very upset as they eyewitnessed what the city mayor describes as six masked agents pummeling a resident and then shooting him to his death.
I'm joined now by CNN Senior Correspondent Josh Campbell. Josh, you've looked at the video several times. We don't know about the details involving what precipitated that shooting. We only see from that point of view, the masked agents who were on top of the suspect. You see their arms in movement of trying to restrain or hit and punch that suspect. And then you hear the gunfire.
We did hear from the police chief earlier who said, again, they're trying to get information from federal authorities and they have not been able to receive that. But the police chief did say that it was believed that more than one federal authority -- federal officer, you know, fired a weapon. So what did you see as you view this video?
JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, anytime we see a high profile use of force incident like this, and you were spot on, I mean, we have to point out this is one angle, right? We don't know what occurred before this happened. We don't know after that video stopped what actually happened.
So it's important to keep that in mind, what we can see and assess and what we don't know, what we still have questions about. What I want to do as we look at this video, though, is kind of match this up with a statement that was put out by the Department of Homeland Security, their version of what happened.
And I want to stipulate that as we've reported in the past, certain statements by this Department of Homeland Security, the veracity of which they -- it has been called into question at times by the courts, by, you know, video that surfaced that seemed to counter the narrative that they have.
Like, I'm not saying that is happening here yet. We only have one angle, but because we know that's happened in the past, we have to keep that front of mind. You see these agents that are there attempting to take this person into custody.
And I want to key on two specific things that the Department of Homeland Security says. They say in their statement that an individual approached Border Patrol officers with a 9 millimeter semi-automatic handgun. The questions that remain, which we cannot see on that video, are they saying that the person had a firearm or the person brandished a firearm toward those agents?
And at some point, you actually see them trying to take him into custody. There is a resistance. He is clearly not wanting to be taken into custody. And so the question that we have, and we'll need, you know, additional video if that is available, is at what point did the officer who fired first perceive that there was a threat? Did the person brandish it? In which case under policy, yes, agents can deploy deadly force.
If they simply saw it on the agent's person, that's not enough to shoot someone. If the person, you know, if it appears a person is reaching for it or, you know, there's other information that could then, you know, be an adequate explanation for deadly force. There's the question there.
And then the final point I'll note, Fred, is when you look at that video, is you see kind of towards the end after the, you know, first one or two shots, that there's one agent who appears to fire multiple times. And so, there's a question, was that the agent who fired first or is this one of the other agents that's there? And why did that person fire? There is a concept in law enforcement, it's called sympathetic gun fire. And that's if you -- if your partner starts shooting, sometimes an officer will start shooting as well.
And, you know, these are human beings, right? You're in a split-second decision, but what officers are trained to do is to make sure that before you open fire, you perceive that there is a threat there. It's not simply start shooting because someone next to you starts shooting. And so, a lot of questions that we're still going to need answered. I will point out in this video, it appears there was another person, looks like a bystander who may have been filming. And so, it will be important if those additional angles. Fred.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: In the red, I noticed the same thing. And that, of course -- and just like we saw in the shooting -- the deadly shooting of Renee Good, there were multiple angles that allowed people to get different points of view of how that shooting transpired. The same may be the case here.
Now, the police chief also said, well, they know the identity of the 37-year-old white male who was the suspect who was killed there. They are not releasing that person's name, but the police chief would reveal that he was a Minnesota resident. He is an American citizen and said that he was a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry. So, again, while DHS revealed a photograph of the weapon that they say is associated with that suspect.
Is it unusual or would it be more customary to reveal a photograph where the weapon is in the proximity of that victim or in the placement to help underscore the reason why authorities thought that person were a threat at the time? Is that something that would ordinarily happen or instead the more sanitized version, which we just saw an isolated photograph of a weapon that they said was that suspect?
CAMPBELL: Yes, the sanitized version certainly raises more questions, right? It appears to maybe be sitting on the seat of a vehicle. This is obviously after the incident. It's unclear right now. I mean, it's a great question, but we don't yet know what type of processing of that scene is actually taking place. And this is really critical because we've seen tensions between local law enforcement and the federal government there.
In fact, I was told by the police chief just a short time ago that whenever officers first arrived, the ICE immigration agents attempted to restrict those local police officers from accessing the scene. Now, the police chief ordered his people, no, you stay there. We're going to do standard protocol, preserve evidence. But what we don't yet know is if they were actually allowed access to start photographing the scene or whether the federal government is asserting, you know, their own authority here to do that themselves.
We have heard the governor and other local officials call for a local, you know, state investigation. And I think a lot of that, particularly now we're on the now third high profile shooting, since we've seen the surge to the city, there are questions about the accuracy of, you know, how these investigations may be handled because we've seen in the past that Trump administration officials have come out so quickly to exonerate agents.
And so, again, what the local officials are calling for is some type of transparency or at least some type of joint effort. So, it doesn't appear so one-sided here. We'll have to wait and see what actually occurs moving forward. WHITFIELD: So, Josh, as we're speaking, I believe -- are these live pictures right now out of Minneapolis? OK. So, as we're talking about, you know, the scene of the crime, the investigation, you know, we hear from the Minneapolis police chief that that shooting took place at 9:03 a.m. Minneapolis time. We're looking at live pictures right now of unrest in various parts of the city of Minneapolis.
We're seeing that the release of, you know, canisters of tear gas, of pepper spray, and you see people dispersing. So, you know, tensions were high. They're even higher now. People are not dispersing, even though Minneapolis police said they're encouraging people to disperse, to remain calm. Don't burn down your own city. We're not seeing flames right now, but we are seeing, you know, these canisters that are being dispensed by presumably federal authorities there.
You know, what -- how do you kind of analyze what's taking place here? I mean, people are very upset about what's been happening over a matter of weeks now, and now a third shooting, the second deadly shooting involving federal authorities.
[13:35:00]
And I guess people who live there are feeling like they want to remain in the streets to press federal authorities to leave. They want them to go, but is that going to work?
CAMPBELL: Well, things clearly very tense right now. And, you know, we are seeing just a small number of people there, that could be, you know, because of the weather and the temperature, you know, we don't see this mass crowd that we have often seen in the past. And so, it's important to note there, we're talking about a small number of people, at least that we can see right now.
But the reality is, is that none of these use of force incidents are happening in a vacuum in that city. They're not -- you know, anytime you have a police use of force, investigators try to look at what just happened at that incident. It doesn't matter what happened two weeks ago, it's what happened here. But the reality is, is because this is so political now, and because there is so much tension, anytime that federal agents are going to use force, there are going to be questions about whether this was overreach, whether this was justified.
And, you know, the sad reality is, and, you know, I'm not picking sides here, it's not my job, but the sad reality is, is that the information kind of comes secondary, right? People understand that, OK, something happened. And if people are anti -- you know, immigration officers being in the city, you know, the first indication of a use of force, the assessment is, well, it had to be, you know, overreaction.
And for the same matter on the law enforcement side, there are many people, you know, in the Trump administration that seem to, you know, believe that law enforcement can do no wrong here based on, you know, the quick exonerations that we've continued to see. So, that's the unfortunate reality, that it's almost like the information about what actually occurred comes next. People are, you know, making their assessments, and it's very hard to convince someone, you know, to reverse something that they've already, you know, bought into.
And so, we're continuing to see that. So, I just point that out, that any one of these incidents, it's this trend that we've seen, right, that will continue. And of course, you know, we continue to hear calls for peace, you know, from local officials, they don't want these crowds to get violent. But clearly, neither side appears to be backing down. You have the federal government saying we're not going anywhere, we're here to enforce immigration law. You have many residents here in the city saying that you're inflaming tensions by just being here.
WHITFIELD: All right. Josh Campbell, thank you so much. As we look at these live pictures, bird's eye view of pepper spray, gas canisters that have been dispersed throughout the streets of Minneapolis there. And at the same time, it has not in any way deterred a number of people who have come out there to contest the presence of federal authorities. We'll have much more straight ahead right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:40:00]
WHITFIELD: All right. Well, welcome back. Tensions are rising in Minneapolis. You're looking at aerial view there just hours after a second fatal shooting involving federal authorities in that city. You're seeing a variety of people from the community who have come out into the streets in protest of the presence of federal authorities there. And then, of course, you see in what appear to be like if you see the green right there, those are the green vests that federal authorities are wearing there as they're in sort of a standoff in this particular location in Minneapolis.
Minneapolis police chief revealed earlier the victim is a 37-year-old white male who is a U.S. citizen who is a Minneapolis resident who was killed, shot multiple times by federal authorities who tried to detain him. DHS saying that he threatened federal authorities and was wielding a weapon and thereby they feel that they are justified in taking him down.
CNN anchor Sara Sidner is there in Minneapolis, not far from the location where the 37-year-old man was killed. What's happening there, Sara?
SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR AND SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There is another confrontation between protesters who are simply expressing their anger towards federal agents. But something has been changed here.
Earlier, it was like a war zone. There was CS gas everywhere, all up and down, which is a street that's considered Eat Street, where there's all these wonderful restaurants here turned into what literally looked like a war zone for a while. But let me let you see the police line because that is what's changed.
One second. Come with me, Jerry. Protesters, you hear them screaming shame, but look at the vest. It is now different. Before it was -- there are the protesters. I'm going to let you listen in. CROWD: Shame, shame, shame.
SIDNER: All right. Here's what's different. Earlier today, just a few minutes ago, it was federal agents, a lot of them, throwing CS gas, blasting CS gas out to these protesters who were simply yelling. Now, we're seeing a difference. Notice what's on their chest, State Troopers. So, these are people from local, who are from Minnesota. We're also seeing Minneapolis police out here now.
The governor had been reporting that the federal agencies, federal, DHS, had said they did not want the local police here. The governor refusing that request. And you can see now, these are local officers and state officers from Minnesota.
[13:45:00]
Earlier today, what we were seeing is federal agents being -- responding very aggressively to protesters who were screaming at them, angry and in fury, because this the third shooting at the hands of a federal agent in this town in less than a month. People here are absolutely sick of this. They want it to end. They look at ICE as a criminal element, not their own community.
And of course, you're hearing from DHS pushing back, trying to say, oh, the person that they ended up killing, they showed a weapon. But what we have not quite yet heard are the details exactly of what went down here. But the video has riled people. I've talked to several people in these different protest groups. Some of them have come out for the first time after seeing that video and also after seeing the arrest -- or sorry, the detention of that little five-year-old boy, Liam, that happened over the last couple of days.
Let me let you just get a sense of what's happening here with all the folks that are out here. I do want to mention to you that it is frigid. It is as cold as you could possibly imagine it here. And you have people who are actually risking their safety to be out here with anger. We are also seeing a veteran who has come out. I'm going to see if we can potentially talk to him about why he's out here and what he has been seeing. Just one second. Come with me, Jeremy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is your fucking home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're a fucking coward.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right? You live here. You live here. You've got to be here after all this bullshit is over. Five shots they put into that man's body. And how do you look me in the eye and tell me you can justify this?
SIDNER: You see him sending a message. Sir, let me ask you why you came out today. What brought you out here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a veteran. I swore an oath back in 1969 to protect this country against all enemies, foreign and domestic. This is unbelievable. People, this is the third person that's been shot as a result of this. How many more bodies do we have to have in the State of Minnesota? How many more? How many more before somebody is responsible or held responsible for this?
These people live here. This is their home. They've got to come back to this. They will never be accepted again. I promise you that.
SIDNER: When you say these people, you're talking about the state troopers, the local police. Earlier today, this is not what was here. It was all federal authorities in these streets. Can you describe just what you saw happening in these streets?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw -- at home, I saw them hold a man down and put five shots into his body, unnecessarily. They say he had a weapon, but this is a concealed and carry state. I have a weapon, OK? Every day I leave my house, I have a weapon because I feel unsafe in my own state. ICE cannot do this. We cannot allow this to happen again. This is going to be a powder keg, a powder keg.
SIDNER: Thank you so much.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're welcome.
SIDNER: I do appreciate you talking to me. All right. We're going to move to the side here. But I want to just mention this. What you are not seeing from the local police, what you are not seeing is similar actions that you were seeing from the federal police.
Jerry, if you'll indulge me, if you'll indulge me, I want you to look on the other side, because what you are seeing are some federal agents on the other side of this and people engaging with them as well. But what you are not seeing from the state and local police is the same aggressive tactics that have been used against protesters by the federal agents who have been out here, who we've been watching all day long and in, you know, sucking in tear gas and watching them pepper spray people in the face.
We did also notice there were several detentions, several people detained by federal authorities on this street. And this is Eat Street. This is a street that is very, very popular. Normally, you would be here this morning having breakfast, enjoying a meal. There are -- it's a multicultural street. You've got everything from Chinese food to donuts to Mexican food to a store -that -- a grocery store that has been run by local Latino family for years and years and years.
This scene, as you heard right there from someone who just came out of his house and said, I cannot sit in my home after seeing what I saw ICE do here, it is a powder keg. That is the powder keg. And we are seeing that, sorry, unfold here minute by minute by minute. It is getting more and more and more people are starting to show up today. And what their message is, is very clear. I will let you hear what their message is. It is not hard to understand. They are saying ICE out now. Fredricka.
[13:50:00]
WHITFIELD: And, you know, Sara, you know, it's very -- it's particularly remarkable because while you just described just moments earlier, we were all air together. We saw many of the protesters who were targeting their anger at federal authorities. And it was like a sand-off, right, because you had big trash bins that were being put in, you know, like barriers and things like that. And it was like a sand-off, right, you saw police tape up, you saw them lined up. And now, the contrast is you have local authorities who are acting as the buffer between those who are angry and angry at the federal authorities.
And all this while there is a lack of cooperation, we're hearing that from the city mayor and the police chief, lack of cooperation between local authorities and federal authorities. Yet here now there is a -- I guess a cooperation of assisting in trying to contain the rage there on the streets. It's very confusing.
SIDNER: I'm not sure it's cooperation with the federal government. I think it is the city and the state saying we are not going to let this unfold without having our own local people here to try and calm things down. And to be perfectly frank, they are not acting in the same manner as the federal agents were acting earlier today, where they are literally blasting towards people, you know, munitions, non-lethal munitions.
I picked a couple of things up and maybe I can show you what I've been seeing being sort of blasted out towards protesters. You know, these gas canisters being used, and we're seeing rubber bullets also that were blasted out. You are not seeing that from the state and local police. You are seeing that from the federal agents.
Oh, well, there's more -- there are more things that that someone who's out here is showing us. Defense technology here called a stinger rubber ball. And, you know, these can be lethal if they hit you in the face, in the head at close range. And this is what people have been dealing with.
But from the federal agents, local agents so far, local police, local state police, they're just standing here listening to protesters being very angry. I do want to just quickly show you, if you can show the apparatus that is showing up, that's a state patrol vehicle. We're also seeing on the other side -- I mean, we are basically surrounded with protesters in separate lines standing up against ICE, against the federal authorities.
And look, the feeling here is pretty incredible in the sense that, yes, you are seeing extreme anger, extreme distress and calling for ICE to be out. But in some of these little restaurants, you are also seeing Minnesotans come together and help one another. The restaurants, some of them opening their doors for people who have inhaled too much gas, who are suffering, who are crying, and kind of triaging them in the restaurant, giving them hot water, trying to get all of the gas out of their eyes.
So, there is this dichotomy happening here of Minnesotans helping Minnesotans and also Minnesotans protesting the police and the ICE agents who are here. And now, they are chanting the name of Renee Good, the first person that ICE killed while here. The scene, though, as you heard from one protester, this can get even more explosive, they're saying, if ICE does not leave their city. Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. All great points. Sara Sidner, this also then perhaps in step, particularly with the police chief earlier saying they are asking people to disperse, remain calm and don't destroy our own city. All right. Thanks so much, Sara Sidner. We'll check back with you.
SIDNER: Sure.
WHITFIELD: We're going to take a short break for now as we continue to cover now a third federal agent involved shooting in Minneapolis, the second to be deadly. We'll be right back.
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[13:55:00]
WHITFIELD: Welcome back. We continue to follow what has now become the third shooting involving a federal agent in Minneapolis. This is the second shooting to now be deadly. The victim is being described as a 37-year-old white male who the police chief of Minneapolis says was a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry. I only underscore that because DHS is underscoring that he was presenting a weapon, and that helps constitute why he was taken down by federal authorities.
We continue to wait for more details coming from DHS or federal authorities who are expected to have a press conference soon. And when that happens, perhaps we'll get some more answers to why this investigation and how this investigation is now continuing.
Someone who's been very outspoken against the Trump administration's immigration policies is Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker. And he's joining us right now, Governor, with your response about what's taking place in one of your fellow Midwestern states now with this third shooting involving federal agents, but this one to be the second that is deadly. What's your reaction?
J.B. PRITZKER (D-IL): Well, these outrageous attacks on our American cities are now leading to ICE and CBP shooting and killing people. We saw them shoot people in the face here in Chicago.
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