Walz Puts Minnesota National Guard on Standby After ICE Shooting

Gov. Tim Walz has put the Minnesota National Guard on standby following an immigration agent’s fatal shooting of a woman in Minneapolis Wednesday.

Various state and local law enforcement agencies and the state’s National Guard were alerted shortly after the shooting that they may be called upon to respond to protests in the area, Walz said during a press conference. He also urged Minnesotans to remain peaceful while criticizing the Trump administration’s rhetoric.

“We do not need any further help from the federal government,” he said. “To Donald Trump and Kristi Noem: You‘ve done enough.”

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating the killing, Walz said. President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have framed the incident as an act of self-defense, saying the woman tried to run over Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

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.

A bullet hole and blood stains are seen in a crashed vehicle on at the scene of a shooting in Minneapolis on Jan. 7. Ben Hovland/Minnesota Public Radio via AP

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, and the car crashes soon after. That agent remained standing, according to the videos.

In a Truth Social post, Trump claimed the woman “viciously ran over” the agent.

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

Around 7,500 troops are in training this week across the state, Walz said during his press conference. The warning order doesn’t mean the Minnesota National Guard has been deployed, he stressed.

Calling back to protests following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020, the governor said the Minnesota National Guard would protect peaceful demonstrations and stop agitators.

“I just want to, again, implore Minnesotans: I am not telling you not to express your anger, or your frustrations or the outrage that we have,” he said. “This was totally predictable, as I said it yesterday, and it was totally avoidable. And I just wanted to remind you, too, that local law enforcement, we get no coordination. They don’t tell us they’re coming.

Walz said his office hadn’t definitively identified the woman shot and killed.

The woman’s mother identified her as Renee Nicole Good, 37, in an interview with The Minnesota Star Tribune, and said that the family had been notified in the morning.

“That’s so stupid” Donna Ganger told the newspaper of the incident, adding that she was not part of protests against federal agents in Minneapolis.

“She was probably terrified,” Ganger added.

This is a breaking news story that will be updated.