Federal authorities on Tuesday took at least two people into custody in St. Paul during an operation that drew protesters and led to law enforcement using chemical irritants and firing less-lethal munitions into the crowd.

There was no immediate confirmation about the nature of the operation, which took place on the 600 block of Rose Avenue East, a residential area in the city’s Payne-Phalen neighborhood.

MPR News photojournalist Kerem Yücel captured images of federal agents on the scene, including at least three from Homeland Security Investigations, part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

. . . St. Paul Police later confirmed their officers used “chemical irritants.”

. . . Hwa Jeong Kim, vice president of the St. Paul City Council, . . . She said she saw federal agents arrest a person, dropping them “head first into the sidewalk. I don’t know what sound your head is supposed to make when it hits the cement like that, but we all heard the crack.” She said the person was clearly injured during the arrest.