Agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shot and killed a female motorist on Wednesday while she was parked in a residential area of Minneapolis, according to officials.
Footage shared on social media depicts the woman being shot moments after an ICE agent, positioned in front of her SUV, instructed her to leave her vehicle as she attempted to drive away. Several bystanders on Portland Avenue were present, expressing opposition to ICE’s operations in Minneapolis during the incident.
The Star-Tribune identified the deceased as Renee Nicole Good, based on information provided by Good’s mother.
Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and another high-ranking DHS official asserted that the deceased woman had committed an “act of domestic terrorism” by purposefully attempting to run over ICE agents.
“Today, ICE personnel in Minneapolis were engaged in targeted enforcement when demonstrators began obstructing their approach, and one of these violent protesters utilized her vehicle as a weapon, trying to harm our law enforcement officers — an act of domestic terrorism,” stated DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a post on X.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey dismissed this narrative, referencing video evidence they reviewed.
Frey characterized the claims from DHS as “nonsense” and “a misleading story,” noting that the woman was 37 years old. MS NOW reported that she was indeed a U.S. citizen.
Donna Ganger, the victim’s mother, expressed her disbelief, telling a Star-Tribune reporter, “It’s absurd” that her daughter was shot. “She was likely frightened.”
The shooting occurred amid heightened tensions due to the influx of over 2,000 ICE, DHS, and other federal agents in Minneapolis and St. Paul for immigration enforcement, alongside President Donald Trump’s criticism of the city’s substantial Somali community and the administration’s campaign against alleged fraud involving federally funded social programs in Minnesota.
Walz criticized DHS for claiming to understand the motives of the deceased without conducting an investigation. He noted he had alerted state officials to prepare for the potential deployment of Minnesota National Guard troops.
“We have a fatality under their supervision, with no justification,” Walz stated at a news briefing.
“We have warned for weeks that the sensationalized operations of the Trump administration pose a danger to public safety, and that someone was bound to get hurt. Just yesterday, I communicated that same concern,” Walz remarked.
“What we are witnessing are the fallout of a governing style aimed at instilling fear, creating headlines, and sparking conflict. It’s a governance model akin to reality television, and today that recklessness resulted in the loss of a life,” he added.
“My message is straightforward: We do not seek further assistance from the federal government,” Walz declared. “To Donald Trump and Kristi Noem: Your actions have been sufficient.”
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara confirmed that his department secured the “crime scene,” with the investigation being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
O’Hara stated that the state bureau will examine “if any state laws… have been transgressed.”
Social media videos from the scene depict ICE officers approaching a cluster of vehicles on a residential street.
“Get the hell out of our neighborhood,” a woman is heard yelling in the video, seemingly from behind the camera.
ICE agents promptly exited their truck and approached a car obstructing the road, commanding, “Ma’am, exit the vehicle, out of the vehicle, get out of the damn car,” as captured in the footage.
One agent attempted to open the driver’s side door while reaching inside the vehicle, according to the video.
The car then slightly reversed before beginning to drive away, as shown in the footage.
Another agent, who had been positioned further up the road from the woman’s vehicle, approached the front of the car, drew his firearm, and discharged it toward the windshield as the car advanced toward him, as seen in various videos. He appears to have fired no less than three shots.
A video broadcast by KSTP 5 in Minneapolis shows the agent aiming his weapon while leaning near or against the woman’s SUV as it began to move forward before firing.
Just under three seconds elapsed between the car reversing and advancing, and the onset of the gunfire.
“Oh my God!” a woman shouts in the video.
The shot vehicle rapidly collides with the rear of another vehicle parked nearby.
“Dude, you just committed murder, for what?” a man can be heard yelling in the video.
A separate video that follows the shooting shows a man identifying himself as a doctor attempting to reach the crashed vehicle.
While he is in the street, a dark SUV approaches, and multiple armed agents exit, instructing him to move back, as seen in that video.
Noem, the DHS secretary, asserted during a speech, “Our ICE officers were conducting an enforcement action.”
“They became stuck in the snow due to the adverse weather in Minneapolis,” Noem indicated. “They were trying to extricate their vehicle when a woman assaulted them, attempting to run over them and ram them with her vehicle.”
Noem added, “One of our officers reacted swiftly and defensively shot to protect himself and those in proximity, and my understanding is that she was struck and has died.”
No video evidence supports Noem’s assertion that the officers were attempting to dislodge their vehicle from snow or that the woman attacked them prior to the shooting.
The agents’ truck was navigating up the street when it halted, and the agents exited; the street showed no evidence of snow.
Walz tweeted, “I have viewed the video. Don’t buy into this propaganda machine.”
“The state will guarantee a thorough, fair, and prompt investigation to ensure accountability and justice,” Walz asserted.
Several Minnesota officials demanded ICE’s withdrawal from Minneapolis following the shooting.
During a press briefing, Mayor Frey vehemently criticized ICE, labeling the notion that the deceased woman aimed to kill agents as “rubbish.”
“I have a clear message for ICE: Get the hell out of Minneapolis,” Frey articulated.
“Their actions are sparking disorder and distrust. They are tearing families apart,” Frey stated.
“They are disrupting order on our streets, and in this instance, tragically taking lives, while already attempting to portray this as a case of self-defense,” the mayor commented.
“From what I have viewed in the footage, I can confidently say this is complete nonsense. This was a case of an agent recklessly exercising power, culminating in someone being killed,” Frey said.
Trump, in a social media post, remarked, “I just watched the footage of what occurred in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It’s truly upsetting to see.”
“The woman shouting was clearly a professional instigator, and the woman driving the vehicle was extremely disruptive, resisting, and then willfully ran over the ICE Officer, who appears to have shot her in self-defense,” Trump stated.
“Judging by the posted clip, it’s astonishing that he survived, but he is recuperating in the hospital. The situation is being thoroughly reviewed, but the ongoing incidents stem from the Radical Left’s daily threats, assaults, and targeting of our Law Enforcement Officers and ICE Agents,” the president expressed.
“They are just trying to perform their duties in MAKING AMERICA SAFE. We must support and safeguard our Law Enforcement Officers against this Radical Left Movement of Violence and Hatred!”
Representative Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., posted on X, stating, “ICE must cease terrorizing our neighborhoods and depart from our city.”
Omar’s House district encompasses all of Minneapolis.
In a subsequent statement, Omar said, “ICE’s conduct today was utterly unacceptable and abhorrent. I am deeply outraged that their reckless and unfeeling actions led to the death of a legal observer in Minneapolis.”
“My heart aches for the victim’s family, who must now endure the pain caused by the reckless and deadly decisions of the Trump Administration,” the congresswoman expressed. “This administration has reiterated, once again, its indifference to the safety of Minnesotans. Rather than safeguarding our communities, they are inciting violence — terrorizing neighborhoods and now taking a civilian’s life.”
“For weeks, ICE’s so-called ‘Operation Metro Surge’ has instilled fear, chaos, and violence across our state,” Omar stated, “This does not constitute law enforcement. It represents state-inflicted violence. It is simply unjustifiable, and ICE must be held responsible. This must entail a comprehensive, thorough investigation and legal repercussions for the agency.”
Walz urged that any demonstrations surrounding the shooting incident remain peaceful.
“They are seeking a spectacle. We cannot grant them that. We must not,” Walz stated during the news briefing.
“You have the right to protest and exercise your First Amendment rights, but please do so peacefully, as you always have,” he urged. “We cannot deliver what they seek.”
Correction: Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey characterized DHS’ assertions regarding the incident as “a misleading narrative.” Earlier versions of this article misattributed this statement.
