Did they tear gas a 6 month old baby in a van in Minneapolis
Executive summary
Multiple local and national news outlets report that a Minneapolis family says federal agents deployed tear gas and flash‑bangs around their vehicle during protests, after which three children — including a 6‑month‑old — were taken to the hospital and the baby briefly stopped breathing, according to parents and bystanders [1] [2] [3]. City first‑responder records and on‑the‑ground reporting confirm emergency crews reached the family and transported children to hospital, but publicly available reporting to date does not include an independent, final confirmation from ICE or a completed investigative finding that the agency intentionally targeted the infant inside the van [4] [5] [6].
1. The family’s account: panic, CPR and hospitalization
Shawn and Destiny Jackson told multiple outlets that their van filled with tear gas and that a flash‑bang detonated near enough to deploy their airbags, after which the 6‑month‑old “stopped breathing” and Destiny performed CPR while bystanders doused the older children’s eyes with milk; three children were taken to the hospital by ambulance, according to the parents’ interviews cited by Fox9, The New York Times and local TV stations [1] [2] [3].
2. What city and emergency records show on the scene
The Minneapolis Fire Department responded to a medical emergency at the reported location and the city’s Office of Community Safety said two children — including an infant — were hospitalized after federal agents used tear gas during the protests, and firefighters and police worked through crowds to reach the family; by the time crews arrived the infant was breathing but described as in serious condition in several reports [3] [4] [5].
3. Law enforcement’s stated context and federal statements
Local and national coverage notes that police and federal agents deployed tear gas and blast munitions to disperse a crowd that demonstrators and officers said had become violent, and the Department of Homeland Security released comments characterizing officers’ actions as connected to a “targeted traffic stop” around the time shots were fired — a framing that situates the crowd‑control use of chemical agents in a broader, chaotic enforcement action [1] [4] [6].
4. Corroboration, video and outstanding gaps
Several outlets cited eyewitness video circulating online and bystander 911 calls, and reporters documented the family’s account at the scene, but the publicly cited reporting so far relies primarily on those eyewitness statements and city response records rather than an independent forensic confirmation that a federal agent deliberately rolled or fired a tear‑gas canister into the van or targeted the infant specifically; media pieces note investigators were on scene and city leaders requested reviews, but a concluded investigation attributing intent and precise sequence is not yet published [4] [5] [6].
5. How to weigh the claims and counterclaims
Taken together, the contemporaneous accounts are consistent: the family says tear gas entered their vehicle and an infant briefly stopped breathing, multiple news organizations report hospital transport and first‑responder involvement, and city officials acknowledged children were hospitalized after federal tear‑gas use; however, law enforcement frames the deployments as crowd control during a volatile scene and DHS/ICE public statements cited a traffic‑stop context, so the difference between a tragic bystander exposure and a deliberate act targeting a baby remains an open question pending the formal review cited by officials [1] [2] [4] [6].
6. Bottom line — what can be stated now with confidence
Reporting from local and national outlets establishes that a 6‑month‑old infant was exposed to tear gas during a confrontation between federal agents and protesters, was briefly not breathing according to the parents and bystanders, and was transported for medical care; what cannot yet be stated from the sources examined is an authoritative, independently verified finding that ICE intentionally gassed the baby inside the van — that determination awaits the outcome of investigations and any forensic review cited by authorities [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6].