Destiny Jackson, 26, and her family of eight were driving home from her middle schooler’s basketball game when they unexpectedly got caught between immigration officers and protesters.
The Minneapolis couple reported that an officer rolled a tear gas canister under their family’s SUV. The vehicle was flooded with toxic fumes, requiring hospital treatment for the couple and several of their six children, including an infant.
The incident occurred near a street in north Minneapolis that had been blocked off, close to where a federal officer had allegedly shot a man in the leg. Federal authorities claimed the officer was attacked while attempting to make an arrest.
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Jackson described the scene as relatively peaceful, with people simply standing around, which prompted them to stop and inquire about the situation. Upon noticing her mother on the street, Jackson spent an estimated 20 to 30 minutes attempting to convince her to leave.
“I was just trying to get her to go home,” Jackson told the Associated Press. “I’ve only seen these things on TV. Some end well, some don’t.”
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The situation escalated with increasing tension, according to her account. She heard flash-bang grenades further up the street, and smoke permeated the air. As the street filled with protesters, the family attempted to drive away, but they encountered federal officers who ordered them to leave the area.
Jackson recounted waiting for the officers to pass, a decision influenced by the fact that another individual, Renee Good, had been fatally shot in her vehicle by an officer. She believed this moment offered their chance to escape. However, as they attempted to leave, an officer deployed a tear gas canister, rolling it directly underneath their SUV.
The family’s SUV was suddenly filled with noxious gas after a loud boom caused the airbags to deploy. The children began crying and screaming, unable to breathe. Rushing to unlock the doors, the mother recounted that her 6-month-old son was unresponsive, his eyes closed, as she pulled them from the vehicle.
“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.
Her husband opened his driver’s side door and exited the SUV, with Jackson following him out. She handed her two-year-old child to a nearby bystander while others assisted in getting the rest of the children out of the vehicle.
She screamed for a wet towel and gave the baby mouth-to-mouth while people poured milk on 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,’” she said. “I just felt like I’m gonna give you every breath I have.”
“It was very uncomfortable. I mean, we were stripped out of all of our clothes into our birthday suits in front of strangers and they were washing out bodies,” Destiny later told CBS.
Local authorities and first responders navigated through crowds to reach the infant reported to be in respiratory distress. Before being transported to the hospital, the fire department reported that the baby was breathing and stable, although in serious condition.
After the incident, Jackson took her baby and two other children, who suffer from severe asthma, to the hospital. While they continue to experience cold-like symptoms, Jackson reports that they are managing the situation and actively providing the baby with treatments aimed at clearing his airways.
Jackson reported that since sharing her family’s experience online, she has been subjected to disturbing 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 said. “I was on my way home.”
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, addressed the incident, claiming that officers were aiming at “rioters and agitators.” She stated that the Jackson family and their “innocent children” were not the intended targets.
Destiny Jackson, speaking on behalf of the family, expressed profound gratitude to their neighbors.
“We are very appreciative of everything that you guys did for us and forever in debt,” she told CBS News.
“They family now, we locked in, I will definitely call them heroes,” said her husband, Shawn Jackson.
The family expressed gratitude for the Minneapolis police officers who rushed to assist them.
“They came rushing in to help me with the baby and I was very appreciative of that. They did take him from me and give him to the fire department to make sure that he was OK, and they also helped guide us out the house to be able to get into the ambulance,” Destiny said.
The Jacksons expressed their thanks for all donations to the fund established for a replacement vehicle and medical expenses.
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