MINNEAPOLIS – A Minneapolis family found themselves in a distressing situation when a tear gas canister, released by immigration officers during a protest, ended up beneath their SUV. The vehicle quickly filled with the noxious fumes, resulting in the parents and several of their six children, including a baby, requiring medical attention.

This unsettling incident with the Jackson family on Wednesday highlights how residents of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area are being unintentionally caught up in the Trump administration’s most extensive immigration enforcement efforts to date. Many locals have taken to the streets to protest the crackdown, but not all who are affected have been actively participating in these demonstrations.

Destiny Jackson, aged 26, recounted that the family was returning home from a basketball game involving her middle school-aged child when they encountered a street blockage in north Minneapolis. This was near the scene where a federal officer had shot a man in the leg during an arrest attempt, which authorities say was met with resistance.

Upon arrival, Jackson observed a calm crowd and decided to stop and inquire about the situation. During this time, she spotted her mother among the crowd and spent 20 to 30 minutes trying to convince her to leave the area.

“I just wanted her to go home,” Jackson explained. “I’ve only witnessed such events on television, where outcomes can vary significantly.”

The situation grew more tense, she said. She could hear flash-bang grenades up the street and smoke was in the air. With protesters filling the street around them, the family started to drive away but came upon federal officers, who told them to leave, she said.

Jackson said they waited until the officers walked past, knowing that an officer shot and killed Renee Good while she was in her vehicle. Jackson said she thought that was her family’s opening to leave, but an officer then rolled the tear gas canister under their SUV.

She said she heard a boom and the car’s airbags deployed. The canister flooded the family’s vehicle with noxious gas. Jackson said her kids were crying and screaming that they couldn’t breathe, so she rushed to unlock the doors and get them out. She said her 6-month-old son’s eyes were closed and he wasn’t moving.

First responders received reports of an infant experiencing respiratory distress, and local authorities said they worked through the crowds of people to respond. The fire department said the infant was breathing and stable but in serious condition before he was taken to the hospital.

Jackson said she, her husband and three of the kids received hospital treatment, including the infant, a 7-year-old and an 11-year-old.

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.”

Since posting online about her family’s ordeal, Jackson said she’s received frightening 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.”

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Fingerhut reported from Des Moines, Iowa.