A 21-year-old woman protesting construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline in North Dakota last weekend was hospitalized in Minneapolis Tuesday after allegedly being struck by a grenade fired by a law enforcement officer, her father said.
Sophia Wilansky, of New York City, underwent surgery at Hennepin County Medical Center after her left arm was "pretty much blown off" by the grenade during the protest Sunday, her father, Wayne Wilansky, said at a news conference Tuesday.
A doctor has told the family that Wilansky will probably face many surgeries — up to 20 — to save her arm and hand, Wayne Wilansky said.
The Morton County Sheriff's Office maintains authorities did not use concussion grenades or any similar devices in dealing with protesters Sunday.
It suggested in a statement Monday that an explosion heard during the skirmish between protesters and police might have been caused by small propane tanks that, authorities said, protesters rigged to explode.
However, Wayne Wilansky said several witnesses saw officers throw a grenade at his daughter.
Sophia Wilansky, a recent graduate of Williams College in Massachusetts, had joined the pipeline demonstration three weeks ago, her father said.
She was one of at least 17 protesters hospitalized after demonstrators tried to push past a long-blocked bridge on a state highway Sunday and were turned back by authorities using tear gas, rubber-coated bullets and water hoses, according to wire reports. She was airlifted to Minneapolis after the confrontation, her father said.
