DHS Says ICE Officer Shot and Killed Woman in Minnesota

An immigration agent shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis on Wednesday, an act President Donald Trump and top administration officials insisted was self-defense and local Democratic officials said proved the dangers of the latest immigration enforcement surge.

The shooting happened during protests over the 2,000 immigration agents deployed to the state this week. A DHS spokesperson framed the shooting by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer as “defensive shots” fired by an agent “fearing for his life,” and claimed personnel were injured but expected to recover.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told reporters the shooting was in response to “an act of domestic terrorism.” She said ICE officers were attempting to push their vehicle out of the snow when “a woman attacked them and those surrounding them and attempted to run them over and ram them with her vehicle.”

Later, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the “woman driving the car was very disorderly, obstructing and resisting, who then violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer, who seems to have shot her in self defense.”

“It is hard to believe he is alive,” the president wrote.

DHS did not answer additional questions from NOTUS. The FBI is investigating the incident, Noem said in a Wednesday evening press conference.

Videos purportedly depicting the incident from multiple angles appear to show two agents exiting a truck to confront the woman, telling her to “get out of the fucking car.” One agent grabbed the driver-side door and pulled on the door handle.

As the driver reversed and began to turn, another agent appeared to be in front of her vehicle. That agent is seen firing off three shots as the person starts to drive away. The agent who fired the shots remains standing. The car crashes soon after.

A photo from the scene shows a bullet hole in the windshield of the car.

It’s not clear what happened in the lead-up to the moments captured by the videos.

Local police did not repeat or confirm DHS’s allegations that the woman had “weaponized her vehicle.”

Noem said the same agent who shot and killed the woman had previously been injured in a similar incident over the summer, in which he was rammed with a car and dragged.

The woman killed was 37 years old, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in a press briefing later Wednesday.

The Minnesota Star Tribune reported that the woman killed was Renee Nicole Good, citing her mother, Donna Ganger. Good was “not part of anything like that at all,” Ganger said, referring to protests against ICE.

“She was probably terrified,” Ganger added.

Frey and other members of Minnesota’s Democratic leadership called on the Trump administration to leave the city and accused federal officials of misleading the public on what happened.

“I’ve seen the video,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz wrote in response to a post from DHS. “Don’t believe this propaganda machine.”

Frey told ICE to leave.

“Get the fuck out of Minneapolis,” Frey said. “We do not want you here. Your stated reason for being in this city is to create some kind of safety, and you are doing exactly the opposite.”

Following the shooting, crowds gathered at the scene, and protests were ongoing Wednesday afternoon.

Sen. Tina Smith said she was still looking for more information as well.

“ICE should leave now for everyone’s safety,” Smith said. “Please be safe Minneapolis.”

Local officials vowed to investigate the incident. Walz said Minnesota “will ensure there is a full, fair, and expeditious investigation to ensure accountability and justice.”

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said a review from her office was the only way to ensure full transparency.

“We will use every available lever to ensure a local, transparent investigation takes place,” she said.

Federal agents have shot at least two other people during the Trump administration’s deportation surges in South Los Angeles and Chicago, in both cases claiming the people shot tried to ram their cars into the agents.

Judges dismissed the cases against the people shot in Los Angeles and Chicago, according to ABC News. The Department of Justice asked the judge overseeing the case against Marimar Martinez, a woman Customs and Border Protection agents shot five times, to dismiss the indictment in November. In late December, another judge dismissed the indictment against Carlitos Richard Parias after the federal government didn’t release body camera footage.

DHS officials say there has been a 1,000% surge in assaults against federal law enforcement officers. However, attempts to prosecute felony assault charges have been unsuccessful. An AP review of 100 cases found that more than half were reduced to misdemeanors or dismissed.

This article has been updated with additional information.