On the 7th (local time) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a woman in her 30s was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent during an ICE operation targeting undocumented immigrants.
According to the Associated Press and others, that morning in Minneapolis, an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, 37, who was attempting to flee by car. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said at a news conference that the woman was shot in the head, received emergency aid at the scene and was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
In a statement after the incident, the Department of Homeland Security said, "While ICE agents were conducting a targeted operation, rioters began blocking the agents, and one of these violent rioters weaponized a vehicle and attempted to kill the agents by running them over," adding, "An ICE agent fired defensively out of concern for their own life, their colleagues' lives and public safety."
Video shared on social media shows ICE agents approaching a sport-utility vehicle (SUV) stopped on the roadway and attempting to forcibly open the door, and when the driver began to move the vehicle, an ICE agent standing directly in front drew a gun and fired into the car. The out-of-control vehicle then crashed into two parked cars before stopping. From this video alone, it is not clear whether the vehicle struck an officer before the shooting.
The Minneapolis mayor and police offered an account of the circumstances that contradicted the federal statement. According to the New York Times (NYT), Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called the Department of Homeland Security's explanation "nonsense" at a briefing that day and argued that "ICE agents recklessly used force and caused loss of life." Police Chief O'Hara also said, "There is no indication that the woman was the target of an investigation or activity by law enforcement."
According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, the victim's mother, Donna Ganger, said in an interview, "My daughter had nothing to do with that (protests resisting ICE agents)," adding, "Renee was very compassionate and spent her life caring for people."
The incident occurred as ICE was carrying out a large-scale crackdown on undocumented immigrants in Minnesota, a Democratic stronghold. It also came at a time of public discontent after the Trump administration said the day before that widespread fraud was occurring in the distribution of welfare program funds in Minnesota and withheld funding for low-income child support budgets for five states including Minnesota.
Coincidentally, Minneapolis is where, during Trump's first term, nationwide "Black Lives Matter (BLM)" protests erupted after Black man George Floyd died at the hands of a white police officer. This incident, too, could become a flashpoint over whether U.S. authorities used excessive force beyond necessity, drawing intense attention from the political sphere.
President Trump wrote on social media that he had just watched the video of the incident and said, "It was a horrific scene to watch. The screaming woman was clearly a professional agitator." He added, "The woman driving the vehicle was very disorderly, obstructing and resisting, and violently, deliberately and brutally ran over the ICE agent with a car."
As news of the shooting spread, angry protesters gathered at the scene to hold an anti-ICE rally, and Democrats are voicing criticism. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said, "A swift and thorough investigation is needed to uncover the truth." Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, "Agents in masks killing an unarmed woman is a betrayal of American values and a morally indefensible atrocity."