Did a 6 month old baby and family get maced by ice agents in Minneapolis
Executive summary
Multiple news outlets report that a Minneapolis family says federal agents deployed tear gas and stun/flash grenades at their vehicle, leading to three children — including a 6‑month‑old infant — being hospitalized; Minneapolis officials confirmed children were treated after federal agents deployed tear gas but independent, on-the-record confirmation from ICE or DHS about the specific allegation of gas rolled under the car is not in the reporting [1] [2] [3].
1. The family's account: a car, tear gas and a child who stopped breathing
Shawn and Destiny Jackson told several outlets they were driving home with six children when, they say, federal agents blocked their path, rolled a tear‑gas canister under the back of their vehicle and deployed stun/flash devices and gas that set off airbags and filled the car; Destiny said the 6‑month‑old stopped breathing and she performed CPR while bystanders poured milk on other children’s eyes before ambulances transported three children to hospitals [1] [4] [5].
2. Local officials and city reporting: hospitalization tied to federal agents’ crowd control
City and emergency officials in Minneapolis reported that first responders treated and transported children after federal agents deployed tear gas during protests, with the Minneapolis Fire Department responding to a medical emergency where an infant had breathing difficulties and was later described as in serious condition upon hospital admission, a detail reflected in city statements cited by local outlets [2] [3].
3. Media corroboration and common elements across reports
A wide range of outlets — including The New York Times, local TV stations (FOX 9, KSTP, CBS Minnesota), Newsweek and others — have published substantially consistent elements: a family caught amid clashes between protesters and federal agents, deployment of chemical irritants and crowd‑control munitions near or against the vehicle, and hospitalization of young children including a 6‑month‑old [4] [5] [1] [6].
4. What is contested or missing from the public record
No source in the provided reporting presents a publicly released, independent forensic or video analysis proving a canister was intentionally placed under the Jacksons’ car by ICE agents; the Department of Homeland Security and ICE had not, in these stories, provided a confirming comment or an on‑the‑record admission addressing the family’s specific allegation that agents “macerated” or directly gassed the infant inside the vehicle [1] [6] [7].
5. Federal account, context and competing narratives
The broader clash in Minneapolis is set against an atmosphere of heightened tension after multiple encounters between federal agents and local residents — including a fatal shooting that local officials disputed — and DHS described some actions as targeted enforcement in separate statements, creating a contested field of official claims and community accounts [8] [9].
6. Weighing the evidence: what can be concluded now
Given the convergence of consistent first‑person testimony from the Jackson family and reporting by multiple reputable outlets that the infant and other children were hospitalized after federal agents deployed tear gas near the scene, it is accurate to say the family reports being tear‑gassed and that city officials confirm children were hospitalized following federal tear‑gas use; however, the specific tactical detail that ICE agents intentionally deployed gas directly under the vehicle (as opposed to gas being used more broadly in the area or other dynamics) remains unverified in the public record provided here because ICE/DHS comment confirming that precise action is not present in the cited reporting [2] [4] [1] [3] [7].
7. Bottom line and open questions for investigators
Reporters and officials have documented hospitalizations and a family's account that an infant stopped breathing after tear gas was used nearby, and that account has been widely reported [5] [10], but authoritative confirmation from ICE or forensic evidence proving a deliberate deployment under the vehicle — the detail that transforms an allegation into an established fact — is not supplied in these stories; independent video, body‑cam footage, chain‑of‑custody evidence for spent munitions or an ICE on‑the‑record admission would be the next steps to close the evidentiary gap [1] [7].