US immigration officer fatally shoots woman in Minneapolis

A US immigration agent fatally shot a 37-year-old woman in the city of Minneapolis, sparking a war of words as local authorities rejected the Trump administration’s account that it was self-defense.

The Department of Homeland Security said the woman, Renee Nicole Good, was a “violent rioter” who tried to run over Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

But Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said “it was an agent recklessly using his power that led to someone’s death,” calling on ICE officials, in expletive-laden remarks, to leave the city.

Hundreds of ICE agents have been deployed to the city as part of the White House’s nationwide fight against illegal immigration.

Videos posted to social media by bystanders appear to show the moment of the shooting, which took place around 10:25 a.m. local time on Wednesday morning.

From different vantage points, a brown SUV can be seen blocking a residential street in Minneapolis.

A crowd of people, seemingly protesting, crowds the sidewalk.

Law enforcement vehicles appear nearby. Immigration officers stop in front of the vehicle parked on the street, get out of the truck and tell the woman driving to get out of the SUV. One of the officers pulls the driver’s side door handle.

Another officer is positioned near the front of the vehicle.

It is unclear how far away the officer is or whether he was hit by the vehicle, based on videos immediately viewed by the BBC.

This officer opens fire as the brown SUV tries to drive away.

Three pops are heard and the vehicle can be seen losing control and crashing into a car parked nearby along the street.

In an article on Truth Social, Trump said an ICE officer was “viciously” run over. “It’s hard to believe he’s alive, but he’s currently recovering in hospital,” he wrote.

The Republican president also criticized the “radical left” for “threatening, assaulting and targeting our law enforcement and ICE agents on a daily basis.”

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the driver was in her vehicle and blocking the road on Portland Avenue. She was then approached on foot by a federal law enforcement officer, “and she started to leave.”

US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the woman was “stalking and obstructing” officers throughout the day and attempted to “weaponize her vehicle” in an attempt to run over the officer in an act of “domestic terrorism.”

The federal agent fired “defensive shots” and was wounded himself, Noem said, before being treated and released from a local hospital.

The Minneapolis City Council, however, said in a statement that Good was “simply taking care of her neighbors” when she was shot and killed.

The same officer was also hit by a car while on duty in June, Noem said.

She added that ICE operations in the city would continue and that the FBI would investigate Wednesday’s incident.

Emily Heller told CNN she was at home when she saw the ICE agents arguing with protesters outside. She said she heard officers yelling at a woman driving an SUV, then an officer tried to open her car door, and the driver put it in reverse and started to drive away.

“An ICE agent stood in front of her vehicle and said, ‘Stop!’ and then – I mean, she was already moving – and then, at point blank range, he shot her in the face through her windshield,” Heller told the US station.

Minnesota state Gov. Tim Walz also pushed back on federal accounts of the incident.

“Don’t believe this propaganda machine,” Walz wrote in response to a Department of Homeland Security article about the shooting.

“The State will ensure that a full, fair and timely investigation is conducted to ensure accountability and justice.”

Top Democrats, including former Vice President Kamala Harris and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, also released statements. Harris called the Trump administration’s version of events “gaslighting.”

Protests and marches took place in several parts of the city as some outraged Minneapolis residents condemned the shooting and called for ICE to leave.

The main rally took place near the scene of the shooting, about a mile from where George Floyd was murdered in 2020 by a city police officer, sparking global protests against racism.

Protests were held in other American cities, including New Orleans, Miami, Seattle and New York.

Minneapolis Public Schools announced that classes have been canceled for the remainder of the week, “for safety reasons.” This comes after federal agents reportedly made arrests outside a high school on Wednesday.

The Trump administration has deployed 2,000 additional federal agents to the Minneapolis area in recent weeks in response to allegations of welfare fraud in the state.

The mayor said during Wednesday’s press conference that ICE is not making the city safer. “They are tearing families apart, sowing chaos in our streets,” he said.

The deployment, which began Sunday, is one of the largest concentrations of Department of Homeland Security personnel in a U.S. city in recent years.

This follows an immigration enforcement campaign launched by ICE late last year to target individuals in Minneapolis who have received deportation orders, including members of the city’s Somali community.

This community was frequently criticized by Trump, who called them “trash.”

“I don’t want them in our country. I’ll be honest with you,” the president said. “There’s a reason their country is worthless. Their country stinks.”

Trump then doubled down after a YouTube video from a conservative online content creator accused daycares run by Somali immigrants of massive fraud.

In response, Trump withheld federal child care funds from the state of Minnesota.

The Trump administration has also sent ICE agents to other cities, part of a widespread crackdown on what it sees as illegal immigration into the United States.