Immigration agent fatally shoots driver in Minneapolis
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The Department of Homeland Security said the woman had weaponized her vehicle, but Minneapolis' mayor said video of the incident didn't show that.
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Witness says they didn't notice tension with driver before shooting
Lynette Reini-Grandell, who witnessed the shooting, said there appeared to be no tension or escalation before an ICE agent opened fire on a vehicle.
When she turned, Reini-Grandell said she noticed a vehicle askew in the lane with ICE vehicles and officers “pretty far behind it.” There were several bystanders on the street yelling at ICE officers, she said on “Meet The Press.”
“I would say less than 60 seconds after I passed her, I heard these three pops — shot, shot, shot, pop, pop, pop — and I knew it was gunfire,” she said. “And almost immediately the crash of her hitting that parked car.”
Reini-Grandell said she didn’t hear any confrontation between the vehicle and officers before shots rang out.
“I didn’t even hear anything from the car. People on the sidewalks were screaming at the ICE agents ‘Get out of our neighborhood,’ that sort of thing, and we were blowing whistles,” Reini-Grandell recalled.
Venus de Mars said they arrived after the gunfire and saw EMTs performing CPR on the victim.
“The ambulances couldn’t get there because there was so much traffic,” de Mars said. “When they finally did get over there, I watched as they got whoever they were doing the CPR on onto a stretcher and put her into the ambulance and drove away. But there was no rush, there was no sirens. I already knew she hadn’t made it. It was just devastating to watch.”
Both said they did not know the victim and that the community has been on alert since ICE arrived last month.
Minneapolis Council member: 'If they truly care about our well-being ... Trump will issue the order for ICE to leave today'
Outraged over the fatal ICE shooting in her city, City Council Member Robin Wonsley is demanding that ICE leave Minneapolis.
“There’s no reason why we lost Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother, who was simply caring and protecting her neighbor. There’s no reason why she should have been shot and killed by a federal ICE agent,” Wonsley told NBC News Now.
“There’s disgust, there’s anger, but there’s also a call to action to do everything that we can to have ICE be removed, have the federal agent responsible for her murder be arrested, and for the investigation that will surely unfold post this tragedy — for there to be local ownership over that investigation,” Wonsley continued.
The council member pushed back against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s statement in which she said that Trump’s law enforcement operations are designed to “bring peace” and “public safety.”
“The biggest threat — if we truly are prioritizing the safety of Minneapolis residents — are ICE agents themselves," Wonsley said. "And if they truly care about our well-being, they will leave today. Trump will issue the order for them to leave today."
Minneapolis holds vigil for woman killed in ICE shooting
The street where an ICE agent shot Renee Nicole Good filled with people who held a vigil in her honor. Raya Quttaineh of NBC affiliate KARE of Minneapolis reports.
Illinois Gov. Pritzker calls on Noem to resign
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, whose state won a Supreme Court victory about the Trump administration’s plans to deploy the National Guard to Chicago, tonight is calling on DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to resign.
“For months, Trump’s DHS has wreaked lawless havoc in our neighborhoods. Tear gassing infants, families, and police. Firing their weapons at peaceful citizens. Killing innocent people,” Pritzker said in a statement on social media.
“It’s brutal, unconstitutional, and out of control. It must stop. Kristi Noem must go. Now,” Pritzker wrote.
Pritzker, a Democrat, made the comments hours after an ICE officer fatally shot a woman in a vehicle in Minneapolis. Noem has justified the shooting, saying the vehicle was headed toward the officer.
In a preliminary decision on Dec. 23, the Supreme Court refused the Trump administration’s request to deploy the National Guard to Chicago, where Pritzker and local officials say it is not needed or wanted.
On Dec. 31, Trump said National Guard troops were being removed from Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland, Oregon.
Connecticut senator says Democrats shouldn't support DHS funding
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said on X after the shooting that Democratic lawmakers should not pass a full-year government funding bill without first securing changes to the Department of Homeland Security, which supervises ICE.
“Democrats cannot vote for a DHS budget that doesn’t restrain the growing lawlessness of this agency," Murphy wrote, linking to a video of the fatal shooting.
The DHS appropriations bill has not passed in either the House or the Senate, and federal funding is set to expire Jan. 31 if Congress fails to act.
In comments to reporters after the shooting, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said that he has "never been for ICE going into our cities" and that federal immigration agents don't "belong there."
"The mayors and county executives and others throughout the country believe they can handle it much better themselves than having people from the outside coming in," Schumer said.
Minneapolis Public Schools call off class for rest of week
The Minneapolis school district said tonight that classes will be canceled for the rest of the week following outrage over the fatal shooting.
“Out of an abundance of caution, there will be no school on Thursday, January 8, 2026, and Friday, January 9, 2026, due to safety concerns related to today’s incidents around the city,” the district said on social media and in a statement.
“The District will not move to e-learning as that is only allowable for severe weather. School will resume on Monday, January 12, 2026,” it said.
Vice President Vance calls driver's death a 'tragedy of her own making'
Vice President JD Vance weighed in on the fatal shooting on X tonight, writing that the ICE officer was justified.
In a response to another post about the incident, Vance wrote: “You can accept that this woman’s death is a tragedy while acknowledging it’s a tragedy of her own making. Don’t illegally interfere in federal law enforcement operations and try to run over our officers with your car. It’s really that simple.”
In a separate post, Vance wrote: “I want every ICE officer to know that their president, vice president, and the entire administration stands behind them.”
“To the radicals assaulting them, doxxing them, and threatening them: congratulations, we’re going to work even harder to enforce the law,” he wrote.
The shooting remains under investigation, including by the FBI. Local officials and others have pointed to video captured at the scene to dispute that the shooting was necessary.
Woman killed by ICE identified as 37-year-old who was 'caring for her neighbors'
The Minnesota Star Tribune identified the woman fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis today as Renee Nicole Good.
The newspaper spoke to a woman who identified herself as Good’s mother. The woman, Donna Ganger, called Good “one of the kindest people I’ve ever known.”
“She was extremely compassionate,” Ganger told the Tribune. “She’s taken care of people all her life. She was loving, forgiving and affectionate. She was an amazing human being.”
The Minneapolis City Council described Good, 37, in a joint statement as a resident who was out “caring for her neighbors” when she was killed.
DHS has claimed self-defense in other ICE shootings
In other shootings that wounded or killed people, the Department of Homeland Security has said vehicles were driven at agents, causing them to fear for their safety.
The most recent shooting before today’s appears to have occurred in Maryland on Christmas Eve, when, DHS said, ICE agents fired into a van.
DHS said the driver and a passenger were in the country without authorization. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said at the time, "The driver refused and attempted to flee, then weaponized his vehicles and began ramming his van into several ICE vehicles.”
“He then drove his van directly at ICE officers, it appeared he was trying to run them over. Fearing for their lives and public safety, the officers defensively fired their service weapons,” McLaughlin said. The driver was shot and the passenger was injured in the crash, she said.
The fatal ICE shooting of Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez in Chicago in September occurred after an ICE agent was “hit by the car and dragged a significant distance” and that agent fired, DHS said.
Carlitos Richard Parias, a TikTok creator and undocumented person living in Los Angeles, was shot in October after, the U.S. attorney’s office said, he “rammed a Toyota Camry into the law enforcement vehicles in front of and behind him” after they tried to box him in.
An ICE agent wrote in an affidavit in a subsequent criminal case against Parias: “According to those agents, not only was the Camry accelerating aggressively forward, but the rear of the car began to fishtail, which caused the agents to fear that PARIAS may lose control of the Camry and hit them.” Some debris, most likely tire rubber, flew into the air and some struck agents, the agent wrote.
Parias was criminally charged, but a federal judge dismissed his indictment in late December. Prosecutors have filed a notice of appeal, according to online court records.
Mayor Jacob Frey: 'You can see for yourself what happened was reckless'
Frey tonight doubled down on his rejection of federal officials' characterization of today's fatal shooting as an act of self-defense.
“Of course I stand by what I said,” he told Tom Llamas on "Top Story." "Look, I’ve got two eyes. All of you do, too. You can see for yourself what happened was reckless and, by the way, entirely predictably, because we have been saying, the chief and I vocally for over a month, that somebody was going to get hurt or killed."
“By the way, this is not like the first instance of horrific treatment. They were dragging a pregnant woman through the snow; we’ve seen them indiscriminately pulling Latino and Somali people off the street. That is not the way we behave in America,” he said about immigration officials' actions.
Noem has said the ICE agent opened fire in self-defense.
Frey said the victim was “clearly trying to leave the situation and get out of there.” He said his office has not yet spoken with the victim's family.
He called for the shooting to be thoroughly investigated. The state has said the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will investigate.
“Get ICE out of this city,” Frey reiterated. “Right now crime is dropping in virtually every category, in virtually every neighborhood. That is important work. But what is clear is that the actions that ICE is taking is not about keeping people safe. It’s about terrorizing communities, it’s about ripping families apart, it’s about eating away at the very fabric that makes Minneapolis Minneapolis and America America."
U.S. senator from Minnesota blasts Noem's 'terrorism' label
Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minnesota, today criticized Noem’s use of the term “domestic terrorism” to describe a woman who was shot by an ICE agent while she was in her vehicle today.
Smith called Noem’s description “reckless” and said it came while the incident is still under investigation, including by the FBI.
“Domestic terrorism was the Oklahoma City bombing,” Smith said. “This was a woman in her car in a neighborhood that is only a few miles from where I live. I know it quite well.”
A bystander captured the shooting on video.
“When you have an event like this, you have a killing like this, there is an investigation — you bring in people who know how to do investigations to understand exactly what happened,” Smith said.
“And yet the president of the United States and the secretary have been just pronouncing what they think happened,” she said. “I can see with my own eyes what millions of people have now seen in this video.”
She said it is hard to see any evidence in the video that the woman rammed ICE agents.
Noem's account of the moments before the shooting
At a news conference tonight, Noem provided an account of the moments before shots rang out in Minneapolis.
She said ICE was carrying out operations in Minnesota at 10:25 a.m. CT and trying to push out of the snow one of its vehicles that had become stuck. At that time, “a mob of agitators that were harassing them all day began blocking them in, shouting at them, and impeding law enforcement operations,” Noem said.
ICE officers approached the driver of a vehicle that was “blocking the officers in,” she said. According to Noem, the woman “had been stalking and impeding their work all throughout the day.”
ICE agents ordered her to exit the vehicle, but she did not comply, Noem said.
“She then proceeded to weaponize her vehicle, and she attempted to run a law enforcement officer over. This appears as an attempt to kill or to cause bodily harm to agents, an act of domestic terrorism,” Noem said. “The ICE officer, fearing for his life and the other officers around him and the safety of the public, fired defensive shots. He used his training to save his own life and that of his colleagues."
Witnesses at the scene have told NBC News that the woman did not appear to try to run over the ICE agent. Rather, they said, it seemed she was trying to drive away from them.
Protest held in New York City after Minnesota shooting
With some holding “ICE is Trump’s gestapo” signs, a crowd in New York City’s Foley Square held a demonstration tonight following the fatal shooting in Minneapolis.
“We want justice, we want peace, we want ICE off our streets,” the protesters chanted at one point.
Protesters gather in New York after a woman was shot dead by an ICE officer in Minneapolis on Wednesday. Bryan R. Smith / AFP via Getty Images
ICE agent released from hospital, Noem says
Noem said the ICE agent involved in today's shooting was "hit by the vehicle" the victim was driving.
"She hit him. He went to the hospital. A doctor did treat him. He has been released, but he’s going to spend some time with his family," Noem said.
She said the officer, whom officials have not yet identified, had been attacked before while on the job.
"In fact, the very same officer who was attacked today had previously been dragged by an anti-ICE rioter who had rammed him with a car and dragged him back in June. He sustained injuries at that time, as well," she said.
Vigil held in Minneapolis after fatal shooting
A crowd has gathered in Minneapolis for a vigil following today’s fatal shooting in an incident that has sparked outrage and condemnation among local officials and residents.
In a notice about the event, organizers said, “We witnessed an atrocious attack on our community today.”
Some held signs, including one that read “ICE out of Minnesota.”
Dieu Do, an immigrant rights activist, told NBC affiliate KARE of Minneapolis that “it could have been any of us.”
Mourners place roses at the site where an ICE agent fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis on Wednesday. Stephen Maturen / Getty Images
She disputed Noem’s characterization that the person who was shot was engaging in an “act of domestic terrorism” and driving toward ICE.
“Domestic terrorism is what ICE is doing — using unmarked vehicles, unmarked clothing, coming in and taking our community members without any paperwork,” Do said.
Noem says driver was 'harassing, impeding law enforcement operations'
Earlier today, Frey, the mayor, called ICE's characterization of the fatal shooting an act of self-defense as "bulls---", but Noem said, "He doesn't know what he's talking about."
"It’s very clear that this individual was harassing and impeding law enforcement operations," Noem told reporters this evening. "Our officer followed his training, did exactly what he’s been taught to do in that situation and took actions to defend himself and defend his fellow law enforcement officers."
ICE agents are trained to never approach a vehicle from the front, not to fire at a moving vehicle and to use force only if there's an immediate risk of serious injury or death.
Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota wants ICE out
Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., today said she wants ICE out of the state.
“I think ICE should leave,” Smith said. “The longer that they are in Minnesota, the less safe people are. And I think we could see today the implication of that, this senseless killing of this woman who was in her car.”
Smith also got emotional when she was asked why she thought the Trump administration is fixated on Minnesota.
“I wish I knew,” she said. “I mean, I wish they would just leave us the f--- alone. I mean, seriously.”
“When did things stop being about politics and and start being about actual human decency?” she said.
“We can all hypothesize on what all of their political reasons are,” Smith said. “But meanwhile, a woman died being shot in her car — and everything that they are doing is making it worse and not better.”
FBI says it is investigating the shooting
The FBI said this afternoon that it is investigating today’s fatal shooting.
“Consistent with our investigative protocol, the incident is under review, and we are working closely with our law enforcement partners,” it said in a statement.
Law enforcement analyst examines Minneapolis ICE shooting video
NBC News law enforcement analyst Jim Cavanaugh provides a detailed interpretation of the video showing an ICE agent fatally shooting a woman inside a car in Minneapolis.
Watching woman die 'will change my life forever,' neighbor says
Emily Heller, 39, wasn't even dressed when she heard whistles alerting the neighborhood that ICE agents were in the area this morning.
“I’ve never seen someone die in front of my house before. This was horrendous,” Heller told NBC News.
Heller said she's never been involved in activities to warn or protest the federal immigration agency, but when she walked out to her porch she said she saw six or seven ICE vehicles and a protester who had parked perpendicular to traffic.
Heller said she saw agents exit their cars and tell the driver to leave, to "get out of here."
“And then they went up to her car and started trying to open her door, and that’s when I’m sure she got spooked and tried to flee," Heller said. "So she reversed a little bit and then angled her wheels so she could drive away. And as she was trying to move forward, one of the ICE agents stepped in front of her vehicle and reached across the hood and fired his weapon about three or four times and shot her in the face."
The driver crashed into a post and hit some cars and “just slumped over in her vehicle," Heller said. She shared graphic video that shows the woman covered in blood in the driver's seat. A man with raised arms who identified himself as a physician asked ICE agents if he could check the woman's pulse but was denied, according to both Heller's account and the video.
Heller said the agents wouldn't let anyone near the scene and told people that emergency services were on the way. In the video, one agent can be heard saying, "We have our own medics."
It took about 15 minutes for EMS to arrive, Heller estimated, because vehicles were blocking the street.
“They were on foot when they got through, and they carried her body out, just like by her limbs, they didn’t even have a stretcher," Heller said. "She was carried out like a sack of potatoes."
“I’ve never seen anything like this before. This was horrific and will change my life forever,” she said. “It’s just so terrifying. I feel so scared."
She said she felt as if the ICE agents were untrained, inexperienced and didn’t know what they were doing. Heller said the driver was being told to leave but also being instructed to stop at the same time, then the man "just fired" his gun.
"They’re just out of their league, and they didn’t know how to handle the situation," Heller said. "They couldn’t let somebody give life support. It was just total chaos.”
She said at times she was frightened watching the agents, some of whom were touching their guns. Heller thought in that moment, "oh ... I could die," she said.
Walz's warnings to Minnesotans echo that of Pritzker in Illinois
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz repeatedly implored residents to remain calm and not “take the bait” from the Trump administration in the wake of the fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis.
His words during a news conference echoed those of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who last year warned his owned residents not to allow protests to turn violent. At the time, Pritzker argued Trump officials were looking for a pretext to militarize their cities.
Walz gave the same warning, noting that there could be far-reaching consequences.
"To Minnesotans, don’t take the bait. Do not take the bait. Do not allow them to deploy federal troops into here. Do not allow them to invoke the insurrection act. Do not allow them to declare martial law," Walz said. "Do not allow them to lie about the security and the decency of this state. And let’s let this investigation play out.”
DHS and White House-linked X account post 'Stand With ICE' messages
The Department of Homeland Security and Rapid Response 47, an X account used by the White House to disseminate its political messaging, posted pro-ICE slogans online following the fatal shooting.
Rapid Response 47 posted an "I STAND WITH ICE" graphic on X at 2:34 p.m. ET. Homeland Security followed up with an all-caps tweet — "STAND WITH ICE" — at 3:38 p.m. ET.
ICE officers trained never to approach a vehicle from the front, DHS official says
ICE officers are trained to never approach a vehicle from the front and instead to approach in a “tactical L” 90-degree angle to prevent injury or cross-fire, a senior Department of Homeland Security official told NBC News.
Officers are also instructed not to shoot at a moving vehicle and only to use force if there is an immediate risk of serious injury or death, the official said.
ICE officers are also instructed that firing at a vehicle will not make it stop moving in the direction of the officer.
Secretary Noem to speak to reporters
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is set to hold a news conference from Minneapolis this evening at 6 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. CT.
Earlier today, she told reporters that the ICE agent who fatally shot the driver acted "to protect himself and the people around him.”
Woman's death should be about safety, not politics, Walz says
In a somber tone, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz characterized today's shooting as "so preventable" and "so unnecessary."
"I want to be very cautious here, because Donald Trump will make this about me," said Walz, a former vice presidential candidate. "He will make this about politics. This is about public safety, and this is about normalcy."
Walz's statement comes just days after he announced that he was dropping his bid for a third term as governor amid a contentious relationship with the White House. The Trump administration has drawn heightened attention to fraud allegations in Minnesota and said it would freeze all federal child care payments to the state.
Video shows ICE agent fatally shooting woman in Minneapolis
Witness video shows the moment an ICE agent fatally shot a woman in an SUV. The Department of Homeland Security said the incident happened after a group of people began blocking agents during an immigration-related operation.
ICE agents are trained to use lethal force only if faced with serious risk of injury or death
In their training, ICE agents are taught that they are allowed to use deadly force only when they face an imminent risk of death or serious physical injury.
More specifically, Homeland Security's policy states that agents may not fire at a moving vehicle unless they face a serious risk of injury or death. ICE agents are trained on this policy.
ICE shooting took place blocks from George Floyd murder site
Today's shooting unfolded at 34th Street and Portland in Minneapolis, according to Mayor Jacob Frey. That's about 10 blocks, or a three-minute drive, from the site where George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer on May 25, 2020.
Today, the area where Floyd was pinned face-down by an officer as he repeated, "I can't breathe," is George Perry Floyd Square.
Floyd's death sparked upheaval in the Midwest city and national protests denouncing police brutality and systemic racism.
Walz says Minnesota has activated emergency operations center
Minnesota has activated its State Emergency Operations Center after the fatal shooting in Minneapolis, Gov. Walz told reporters.
He said statewide law enforcement officers were coordinating with city officials to ensure public safety.
Minnesota governor hits at Trump administration for 'governing by reality TV'
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said that today's fatal shooting is the result of the federal government’s “dangerous, sensationalized operations."
"What we're seeing is the consequences of governance designed to generate fear, headlines and conflict," Walz said at a news conference this afternoon. "It's governing by reality TV, and today, that recklessness cost someone their life."
Minnesotans love their state, Walz said, as he urged residents not to turn against each other. The governor said that protesting is a "patriotic duty" but that it must be done peacefully.
"I feel your anger. I’m angry," Walz said. "They want a show; we can’t give it to them."
Trump says officer was defending himself, is recovering in hospital
President Donald Trump defended the actions of the ICE officer involved in the fatal shooting.
The president said in a post on Truth Social that he viewed a clip of the incident, calling it "a horrible thing to watch."
"The woman screaming was, obviously, a professional agitator, and 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," he wrote. "Based on the attached clip, it is hard to believe he is alive, but is now but is now recovering in the hospital."
Trump said that law enforcement officers and ICE agents are regularly threatened.
"They are just trying to do the job of MAKING AMERICA SAFE."
Sen. Klobuchar concerned DHS statements don't line up with 'video evidence'
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn, expressed concern that the statements made by Homeland Security officials do "not appear to reflect video evidence and on-the-ground accounts."
The fourth-term Minnesota senator expressed condolences for the family of the woman who was killed today before criticizing the role of ICE agents in the state. She called for full transparency and an investigation into the shooting.
"While our immigration enforcement should be focused on apprehending and prosecuting violent criminals to make our communities safer, these ICE actions are doing the opposite and making our state less safe," Klobuchar said.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., called the actions of the federal agents "unconscionable and reprehensible" in her own statement this afternoon. She described the woman who was killed as a "legal observer" and characterized the events as "state violence."
“This administration has shown, yet again, that it does not care about the safety of Minnesotans," Omar said. "Instead of protecting our communities, they are unleashing violence — terrorizing neighborhoods and now killing a civilian."
Protesters hurl snowballs at law enforcement
Some protesters are throwing snowballs at law enforcement officers as dozens of demonstrators march the streets of Minneapolis, aerial footage shows.
A Minneapolis Police officer reacts as their vehicle is hit by snowballs as they leave the scene of the shooting today. Stephen Maturen / Getty Images
Minnesota's ACLU branch calls on ICE to leave state 'immediately'
The ACLU of Minnesota, one of the state's leading civil liberties organizations, said it was "devastated" by news of the shooting and called for "an immediate and transparent investigation."
"We are waiting to learn more," the group said in a statement on social media, "but this is what we know: ICE is endangering our communities and must leave Minnesota immediately."
Watch: NBC News special report on the Minneapolis shooting
"NBC Nightly News" anchor Tom Llamas with more on what we know:
ICE agent acted to 'protect himself,' Noem tells reporters
Homeland Security Secretary Kristin Noem told reporters that the ICE agent who shot a woman in Minneapolis today "acted quickly and defensively shot to protect himself and the people around him."
The agency was working to learn more, but Noem said that agents were trying to push their vehicles out of the snow when the shooting happened. Noem alleged that the woman who was killed tried to attack ICE agents in an "act of domestic terrorism."
"We're continuing to gather more information, but this goes to show the assaults that our ICE officers and our law enforcement are under every single day," Noem said.
Protesters and law enforcement clash at shooting scene
David Guttenfelder / The New York Times / Redux
Members of the U.S. Border Patrol shove men to the ground as federal agents try to leave the scene of a shooting involving a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis today.
David Guttenfelder / The New York Times / Redux
Members of the Border Patrol Tactical Unit use pepper spray on people gathered at the scene. David Guttenfelder / Redux Pictures
A man is treated after being exposed to a chemical irritant. Stephen Maturen / Getty Images file
'There was plenty of space:' Witness pokes at accusation woman was trying to run over ICE agents
Aidan Perzana, 31, said he was just waking up when he heard the honking and other activity outside his home, which faces the street where the shooting took place, and went to the window.
He said he saw a Honda askew between the curbside and the bike lane, its front end poking into the bike lane. He said there were two men in full fatigues, wearing garments that said "police," but no other identification.
"One was right by the passenger door and one by the driver’s side. There was clearly commotion. I couldn’t hear what anybody was saying," Perzana said. "Then a third person approached the vehicle from the driver's side and started pulling quite hard on the door handle two or three times, at which the vehicle reversed a few feet and then started going forward."
Perzana said that he heard Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's allegation that the woman was trying to run down an officer. He said it looked like the driver was trying to flee.
"When she started driving forward, there were, I think, three shots from the person who was originally by the driver’s side door, not the person who had been pulling on the handle," he said.
He added that "there was plenty of space between the officers at that point for the vehicle to make it through."
Perzana said an ambulance arrived around 10 minutes later, but could not reach the vehicle because of ICE vehicles in the street.
Aidan and Grace Perzana. Courtesy Grace Perzana
"There were probably six or seven, sort of parked all askew...blocking traffic," he said. "They didn’t not, you know, clear the way for the ambulance so, some people approached on foot."
Aidan’s wife, Grace Perzana, 32, said the family has lived in the neighborhood for more than two years and "love it." She did not believe there were many people of Somali descent on her street, but said she does have many "Latinx" neighbors.
"We are really happy here," she said. "We have a giant shark statue in our front yard and our neighbor has a giant T-Rex statue. There is a lot of community art, a lot of people having barbecues with music in their backyards. "
'Don’t believe this propaganda machine,' Walz says
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is pushing back against the Homeland Security account of today's shooting, writing on X that he's "seen the video."
"Don’t believe this propaganda machine," Walz said. "The state will ensure there is a full, fair, and expeditious investigation to ensure accountability and justice."
Minnesota governor to address the ICE shooting
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is expected to make comments addressing the ICE-involved shooting in Minneapolis within the next hour.
His office said the governor would hold a news conference at 3:15 p.m. ET/2:15 p.m. CT this afternoon.
Mayor led Minneapolis during turmoil that followed George Floyd's murder
Today's shooting is not Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey's first experience leading the city through an officer-involved shooting under public scrutiny.
Frey came to the national spotlight in 2020 when George Floyd was murdered by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. Floyd's death was initially described as a medical emergency, but bystander video showed Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck while the man gasped, saying he could not breathe.
The case sparked renewed anger over police brutality and a racial reckoning that swept the U.S., sparking protests in the Twin Cities that eventually ignited across the country. Protests in Minneapolis at the time were fraught with physical violence between residents and police.
During a news conference today, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara urged citizens to exercise their First Amendment rights safely and peacefully.
Roughly 1,400 arrests made by ICE in Minneapolis
Since arriving in Minneapolis in early December, ICE officers and agents have arrested roughly 1,400 people, Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin previously said.
That is a significant increase from the roughly 300 arrests by Dec. 12, making it a much larger operation than some Border Patrol surge operations in cities such as Charlotte, North Carolina and New Orleans.
McLaughlin also said Border Patrol agents just arrived in Minneapolis and will begin operations there today.
This week, DHS sent hundreds more officers and agents to bolster immigration enforcement in Minneapolis, posting on social media that it is waging “the largest DHS operation ever” in Minnesota.
Residents outraged in the wake of woman's death
Residents and locals gathered in the street after the ICE shooting in Minneapolis, chanting and throwing snowballs in the direction of federal agents, KARE reported. Law enforcement deployed pepper spray and tear gas.
Brandon Hewitt, who is new to the neighborhood, said he was getting up around 8:30 a.m. when he heard three gunshots. He then looked outside and said he saw that a vehicle had crashed.
“I’m pretty right-leaning, but seeing this, this is not what you need to do,” he told KARE. “It’s not how to do it. It’s not how we’re supposed to do things around here in America.”
People protest at the scene of the shooting today. Tom Baker / AP
'Get the f--- out of Minneapolis,' Mayor Frey says to ICE
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called for ICE to leave the city.
“What they are doing is causing chaos and distrust. They are ripping families apart, sowing chaos in the streets and, in this case, quite literally killing people,” he said at a news conference after the shooting. “This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying, getting killed.”
Frey said that there was little he could say to improve the situation, but he had a message for federal immigration agents in the city.
“To ICE, get the f--- out of Minneapolis,” the mayor said. “We do not want you here. Your stated reason for being in this city is to create some sort of safety, and you are doing the opposite.”
Woman shot and killed by ICE agents in Minneapolis
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis today after a group of people began blocking agents during an immigration-related operation, the Department of Homeland Security said.
Video footage from NBC affiliate KARE 11 of Minneapolis showed a burgundy SUV with what appeared to be a bullet hole in the windshield. The vehicle had crashed into a light pole. It’s not clear to whom the SUV belongs or from where the bullet was shot.
Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin accused the woman who was killed of weaponizing her vehicle, "attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them." McLaughlin said in a statement that ICE agents were conducting targeted operations in the city when the 37-year-old woman was shot.
