A heart-wrenching incident unfolded in Minneapolis when a young family found themselves caught in a distressing clash between protestors and ICE agents. Amid the turmoil, their baby boy became an unintended victim of tear gas.

The Jackson family’s SUV was engulfed in tear gas on Wednesday, resulting in several of their six children needing hospital treatment. The youngest, a mere six months old, was among those affected.

Destiny Jackson, a 26-year-old mother, recounted to the Associated Press how the family was simply returning from their middle schooler’s basketball game when the unfortunate event transpired.

Unaware of the impending chaos, they drove into a street that had been cordoned off. The area had just witnessed a federal agent shooting a man in the leg, with authorities alleging that the man had violently resisted arrest.

Despite the tense environment, Jackson observed what seemed to be a calm scene. This sense of safety prompted her to approach and inquire about the situation.

In the midst of it all, Jackson noticed another mother present and spent about half an hour trying to persuade her to leave, hoping to steer her away from any lurking danger.

‘I was just trying to get her to go home,’ Jackson told the outlet. 

‘I’ve only seen these things on TV. Some end well, some don’t.’

Tear gas flooded the SUV of the Jackson family on Wednesday and left several of their six children hospitalized, including their six-month-old son

A loud bang erupted and the cars air bags deployed before their car was filled with the gases. The mother of six said her children began crying and screaming that they couldn’t breathe

Destiny Jackson, 26, said the scene was peaceful when they arrived on their way home from one of their children’s basketball game but it quickly escalated

As the scene began to erupt, Jackson told CNN that it was no longer safe and they tried to find a way out.

‘An ICE agent, one of them like yells in my window like, “get the F out of here.” And my husbands like, “We’re trying,”‘ Jackson told the outlet.  

Jackson said she warned her husband to be careful when maneuvering the car. 

‘We’ve seen what happened to Renee [Good],’ she said. 

As she thought it was clear to leave the area, an officer rolled a tear gas canister under their car, Jackson recalled to AP. 

A loud bang erupted and the cars air bags deployed before their car was filled with the gases. The mother of six said her children began crying and screaming that they couldn’t breathe. 

Jackson rushed to open the car doors, and found her infant son with his eyes closed and completely still. 

‘I was feeling around, like I was hitting my son’s window and I worked my way to his lock, and then I reached over all my other two younger kids and I unlocked that lock,’ she told CNN. 

Jackson said she, her husband Shawn and three of their children received treatment at hospital, including their infant son, a seven-year-old and an eleven-year-old

The Jackson family, including Destiny and Shawn as well as four of their children

Jackson described the experience as ‘very traumatizing’ and one she never thought her family would have had to endure ‘in a million years’

‘I couldn’t breathe. And I’m pointing at the car and I’m saying, “I have more kids, I have more kid,”‘ Jackson recalled telling bystanders. 

Video showed Jackson screaming for a wet towel as she was given her unresponsive infant, and was seen giving him mouth-to-mouth as bystanders poured milk over her other children’s eyes. 

‘In the midst of like doing mouth-to-mouth, I stopped and I looked at my baby and I was just like “wake up, you have to.” I just felt like I’m gonna give you every breath I have,’ she said. 

Emergency responders arrived on scene to administer aid to reports of an infant in respiratory distress. According to the fire department, the six-month-old boy was breathing and stable but in serious condition before being taken to hospital. 

Jackson said she, her husband Shawn and three of their children received treatment at hospital, including their infant son, a seven-year-old and an eleven-year-old. 

‘They were innocent bystanders driving through what should have been a peaceful protest when things took a turn,’ she wrote on a GoFundMe. ‘ICE began to start throwing tear gas bombs everywhere. We were trying so hard to get out the way but didn’t want to harm anybody with our car in the process.’

‘One of the bombs rolled under our truck and within seconds our truck lifted up off the ground and the airbags deployed, the car doors locked themselves and the car began to fill with the powerful tear gas. We fought hard to get the doors open and get all of the kids out, bystanders had to help.

‘Once all of the kids were out we realized our infant wasn’t breathing. with what little breath I had in my body I began giving my baby mouth to mouth and performing CPR. He eventually regained consciousness. EMS arrived shortly after to assist.’

Demonstrators display signs during a protest more than a week after a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Members of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other law enforcement officials stand guard during a protest more than a week after an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Good

She described the experience as ‘very traumatizing’ and one she never thought her family would have had to endure ‘in a million years.’ 

Jackson said that after posting about the ordeal online she has received threats and hateful messages. 

‘I try not to pay attention to the negative. I know what was going on. I know what my intentions were,’ she told AP. ‘I was on my way home.’

Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said officers were responding to crowds of ‘rioters and agitators’ and did not target the Jackson family or ‘their innocent children.’

DHS claimed that protestors had began to get violent and shot fireworks at ICE agents, CNN reported.  

The civil unrest in Minnesota follows the death of mother-of-three Renee Nicole Good, who was fatally shot three times by agent Johnathon Ross through the windshield of her car. 

Ross, who walked away from the incident, was said to have sustained internal bleeding from Good’s vehicle.  

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the officer involved in the shooting ‘feared for his life and safety as he was ambushed by three individuals.

Tensions reached fever pitch after Good’s death last week, with classes canceled at public schools in the region as protesters took to the streets to challenge the Trump administration 

‘The officer fired a defensive shot to defend his life,’ McLaughlin added.

The incident took place about 6.50pm local time as federal law enforcement officers conducted ‘a targeted traffic stop in Minneapolis of an illegal alien from Venezuela.’

The criminal had allegedly been ‘released into the country’ by former president Joe Biden in 2022.

Mayor Jacob Frey hit back, arguing the arrival of as many as 3,000 immigration officers had ‘created chaos’ in the streets and increased the workload of the 600 full time police officers in the community.

‘We have ICE agents who, along with border patrol, are creating chaos,’ he warned.

‘This is not creating safety. It is certainly not creating safety when a huge percentage of the shootings that have taken place this year in the city are by ICE.

‘It is disgusting and intolerable,’ he said. Addressing the public who may have tuned in from other states across the nation, he implored them to imagine such violent scenes taking place in their own backyards.

‘If it were your city, it would be intolerable too.’

A protesting community member attempts to protect themselves as federal agents fire munitions and pepper balls

Around 3,000 ICE agents have descended on the streets of Minneapolis amid concerns about rampant fraud within the local Somali community, as the Trump administration seeks to ramp up deportation efforts 

Frey once again called on the Trump administration to recall the ICE agents deployed to Minnesota, warning that he is ‘deeply concerned’ his city ‘doesn’t have the time’ to go through the legal channels to force agents to leave.

‘People are scared,’ he said. ‘The atmosphere is tense.’

Walz also weighed in on Wednesday night, issuing a statement calling for calm despite acknowledging the community’s ‘anger.’

‘I know you’re angry. I’m angry. What Donald Trump wants is violence in the streets,’ he said.

‘But Minnesota will remain an island of decency, of justice, of community, and of peace. Don’t give him what he wants.’

As many as 3,000 ICE agents have descended on the streets of Minneapolis amid concerns about rampant fraud within the local Somali community, as the Trump administration seeks to ramp up deportation efforts.

Tensions reached fever pitch after Good’s death last week, with classes canceled at public schools in the region as protesters took to the streets to challenge the administration and demand the removal of immigration authorities.

At least 60 agitators have been charged with impeding or assaulting immigration authorities in Minnesota in the last five days, ICE official Marcos Charles told Fox.

‘We will be arresting anybody that interferes or impedes in any of these enforcement actions,’ Charles said. ‘We’ve already arrested 60… that have got in our way, impeded us or assaulted an officer.’