MINNEAPOLIS, MN — January 18, 2026 — A six-month-old baby was revived with CPR after a tear gas canister reportedly rolled under the family’s SUV and filled the vehicle with fumes, in an incident that highlights the dangers faced by civilians amid intense protests and enforcement actions in the Twin Cities.
The Jackson family — Destiny Jackson, her husband and their six children — were driving home from a basketball game on Wednesday when they became caught between a protest and federal officers conducting immigration enforcement operations. Initially unaware of the chaos unfolding, the family pulled up to a blocked street in north Minneapolis, where demonstrations and confrontations with law enforcement were already underway.
Jackson said the situation appeared calm at first and that she stopped to speak with her mother, who was near the protest. But as smoke and the sounds of flash-bang grenades grew closer, the family attempted to leave the area. When they encountered federal officers blocking their path, Jackson said an officer rolled a tear gas canister under the family’s SUV. Moments later, the vehicle’s airbags deployed and the interior quickly filled with noxious gas, causing the children inside to scream and struggle to breathe.
In the chaos that followed, Jackson rushed to unlock the doors and help her children escape. She found that her six-month-old son was unresponsive, his eyes closed and not breathing. According to local reports, someone in the family performed CPR on the infant, successfully reviving him before emergency responders arrived.
First responders treated the infant for respiratory distress, and the fire department said he was “breathing and stable but in serious condition” before being taken to the hospital. Jackson, her husband and several of the older children — including a 7-year-old and an 11-year-old — were also treated at a medical facility.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security stated that officers were responding to crowds of “rioters and agitators” and that the tear gas was not aimed at the family or “their innocent children.”
The Jackson family’s ordeal has brought renewed attention to the risks facing bystanders as federal and local authorities contend with increasingly intense demonstrations connected to immigration policy and enforcement actions in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area.
