A woman has died after being shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis.
Tensions have been high in the city in recent days, due to the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to the streets.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin claimed the 37-year-old woman was shot when she sought to “weaponise” her vehicle and allegedly attempted to run over an officer in her car.
However, in a press conference, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called these claims “bullshit” and criticised ICE for its operations, telling officers to “get the f*** out” of the US city.
“They are already trying to spin this as an action of self-defence. Having seen the video myself, I want to tell everybody directly, that is bullshit,” he said.
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The woman’s car drove into a telephone pole after the shooting . Pic: Reuters.
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A bullet hole is seen on the windshield of the vehicle. Pic: AP
ICE is the federal US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency responsible for homeland security investigations and removal operations against people the US decides are in the country illegally.
The FBI has launched an investigation into the shooting, Minneapolis officials said.
Video of the shooting shared on social media by witnesses shows officers approaching an SUV stopped across the middle of the road, and demanding the driver open the door and grabbing the handle.
The vehicle moves forward and a different ICE officer standing near the vehicle, on the driver’s side, pulls his gun and fires two shots into the SUV at close range, jumping back as the car moves toward him.
The SUV then hit two parked cars before crashing to a stop.
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A woman has died after a shooting by ICE officer in Minnesota.
Writing on Truth Social, President Donald Trump said the woman driving the car was “very disorderly, obstructing and resisting” and she then “violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer who seems to have shot her in self defense.”
He said the ICE officer is “now recovering in hospital” and blamed the incident on the ‘Radical Left’ for ‘threatening, assaulting, and targeting our Law Enforcement Officers”.
The DHS earlier said it had launched what it called the largest immigration enforcement operation ever carried out by the agency in Minnesota, with 2,000 federal agents and officers expected in the Minneapolis area for a crackdown tied in part to allegations of fraud involving Somali residents.
Ms McLaughlin said: “Today, ICE officers in Minneapolis were conducting targeted operations when rioters began blocking ICE officers and one of these violent rioters weaponised her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them-an act of domestic terrorism.
“An ICE officer, fearing for his life, the lives of his fellow law enforcement and the safety of the public, fired defensive shots.
“He used his training and saved his own life and that of his fellow officers.
“The alleged perpetrator was hit and is deceased.”
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Emergency medical technicians administer aid at the scene of a shooting in Minneapolis. Pic: AP
A large group of protesters gathered at the scene of the shooting, where they expressed anger at law enforcement officers.
Chief of the Minneapolis Police Department Brian O’Hara did not indicate the woman had been attempting to harm anyone, confirming that she had been using her vehicle to block the roadway on Portland Avenue.
He said the woman had been shot in the head, and there was no indication she was the target of “any law enforcement investigation or activity.”
“This woman was in her vehicle and was blocking the roadway on Portland Avenue,” he said.
“At some point a federal law enforcement officer approached her on foot and the vehicle began to drive off,” the chief said.
“At least two shots were fired. The vehicle then crashed on the side of the roadway.”
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A member of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) restrains a protester trying to block vehicles from leaving the scene.
Pic: Reuters
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Members of ICE stand guard after a driver of a vehicle was shot in Minneapolis. Pic: Reuters
Homeland security secretary Kristi Noem branded the incident as an “act of domestic terrorism”.
She alleged the woman had “attempted to run them over and rammed them with her vehicle”.
“An officer of ours acted quickly and defensively, shot, to protect himself and the people around him,” she said.Mr Frey criticised ICE and accused law enforcement of pushing a “garbage narrative” about the shooting.
“They are not here to cause safety in this city. What they are doing is not to provide safety in America,” he said.
“What they are doing is causing chaos and distrust… They’re ripping families apart. They’re sowing chaos on our streets and in this case quite literally killing people.”
Minnesota governor Tim Walz, who this week announced he would not be seeking reelection to a third term, wrote on X: “I’ve seen the video. Don’t believe this propaganda machine. The state will ensure there is a full, fair, and expeditious investigation to ensure accountability and justice.”
The shooting occurred in a residential neighbourhood south of downtown Minneapolis, just a mile (1.6km) from where George Floyd was killed.