US immigration officer shoots woman in Minneapolis

Trump accused the victim of viciously trying to run over the agent

MINNEAPOLIS:

An immigration officer in Minneapolis shot dead a woman Wednesday, triggering outrage from local leaders even as President Donald Trump claimed the officer acted in self-defense.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey deemed the government’s allegation that the woman was attacking federal agents “bullshit,” and called on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers conducting a second day of mass raids to leave Minneapolis.

Thousands of people gathered for a nighttime vigil at the scene, social media showed, while demonstrators also assembled in Manhattan, an AFP correspondent saw.

A widely shared video of the incident shows a Honda SUV apparently blocking unmarked law enforcement vehicles as they attempt to drive down a snow-covered street.

The driver, named by local media as 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, attempted to drive off as officers approached and tried to open her door, with one agent firing three times with a handgun as the vehicle pulled away.

Trump, who has ordered nationwide anti-immigrant raids, accused the victim of “viciously” trying to run over the agent.

“The woman driving the car was very disorderly, obstructing and resisting,” he said on Truth Social, adding the agent “seems to have shot her in self-defense.”

ICE’s federal agents have been at the forefront of the Trump administration’s immigrant deportation drive, despite the objections of local officials.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched an aggressive recruitment campaign last summer to add 10,000 additional ICE agents to the existing 6,000-strong contingent.

That sparked criticism that new officers in the field were insufficiently trained.

DHS chief Kristi Noem said “any loss of life is a tragedy” but called the incident “domestic terrorism” and said Good “had been stalking and impeding (ICE’s) work all throughout the day.”