A United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer has shot and killed a 37-year-old woman in her car in Minneapolis, amid the Trump administration’s latest immigration crackdown, according to local and federal officials.
Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey rejected the Trump administration’s assertion that the agent fired in self-defence, saying video of the shooting directly contradicted what he called the government’s “garbage narrative”.
“They’re already trying to spin this as an action of self-defence,” a visibly angry Frey said at a press conference. “Having seen the video myself, I want to tell everybody directly — that is bulls–t.”
Frey blamed federal immigration agents for sowing chaos in the city, telling ICE: “Get the f–k out of Minneapolis.”
He also urged residents to remain calm.
Government officials says officer fired defensively
The shooting drew hundreds of protesters into the streets near the scene, some of whom were met by heavily armed federal agents wearing gas masks who reportedly fired chemical irritants.
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the US homeland security department, said in a post on X the ICE officer started firing after a “violent rioter” attempted to run over ICE officers in an “act of domestic terrorism”.
The agent, the statement asserted, saved “his own life and that of his fellow officers”.
An onlooker held up a sign as members of law enforcement worked the scene following the shooting. Source: Getty / Stephen Maturen
“The alleged perpetrator was hit and is deceased,” McLaughlin wrote. “The ICE officers who were hurt are expected to make full recoveries.”
Trump also posted on his Truth Social platform, saying he had viewed a clip of the incident.
“The reason these incidents are happening is because the Radical Left is threatening, assaulting, and targeting our Law Enforcement Officers and ICE agents on a daily basis.” he claimed.
Woman’s identity not yet disclosed
The identity of the woman who was shot dead has not been disclosed.
US senator Tina Smith, a Minnesota Democrat, said on X she was a US citizen, while Democratic representative Ilhan Omar, whose district includes Minneapolis, said she was a “legal observer”.
The police chief said the woman, who was married, was not a target of immigration operations.
Videos of the shooting
Videos of the shooting posted on social media and verified by Reuters news agency raised doubts about the government’s account.
One widely shared video shows a maroon Honda SUV partially blocking a road. As the clip starts, the driver inches forward, then stops to let another car pass.
The driver, with the window down, then appears to gesture to an approaching pickup truck to go ahead as well.
The identity of the woman who was shot dead has not been disclosed. Source: Getty / Stephen Maturen
Instead, the truck stops, and two officers exit and approach the vehicle on foot. As one of the agents orders the driver out of the SUV and grabs the door handle, the vehicle reverses briefly, and a third agent comes around to the front of the car from the passenger side.
The driver then goes forward, turning the wheels to the right, as if to head up the street away from the officers. The agent in front of the car pulls his weapon, steps back and fires, with the left front bumper coming close to his legs.
He fires three shots, with at least one shot after the car’s front bumper has already passed him.
It was not clear from the video whether the car made contact with the officer, who kept his feet throughout the encounter.
After the shots are fired, the car accelerates up the street and crashes into parked cars and a utility pole.
