As DHS cites self-defense in a fatal Minneapolis ICE shooting, Phoenix demonstrators mourn her life and demand an independent investigation.
PHOENIX — Hours after an ICE agent shot and killed a woman during a federal immigration operation in Minneapolis, community leaders and Valley residents gathered outside Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s field office in downtown Phoenix to mourn the victim and demand accountability.
RELATED: Driver shot in Minneapolis is at least the fifth person killed in US immigration crackdown
The woman was identified by federal sources as 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, a Minneapolis mother who was killed Wednesday morning. Protesters held candles, waved signs reading “Justice for Renee Nicole Good,” and called for an immediate, independent investigation into the shooting.
“We are here to say we are her friend, we are her neighbor, we are her co-organizer, and we are in solidarity with her and the people of Minneapolis,” an organizer told the crowd.
Federal sources said Good was a U.S. citizen. Minneapolis city leaders have said she was acting as a legal observer during the operation and was not the target of any arrest.
“It is so incredibly heartbreaking that someone lost their life to ICE violence,” said Lexsiri Coronado, an activist and member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. “It’s incredibly unjust, and her death was, you know, uncalled for.”
The Department of Homeland Security, however, said Good was part of a group blocking agents during an immigration-related operation.
“ICE agents repeatedly ordered her to get out of the car and to stop instructing, obstructing law enforcement, but she refused to obey their commands,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said.
DHS claims Good attempted to drive her vehicle into ICE agents and that an agent fired in self-defense.
“This appears as an attempt to kill or to cause bodily harm to agents, an act of domestic terrorism,” Noem said.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and other Minnesota officials have rejected that account, saying the shooting was not justified. That sentiment was echoed by many at Wednesday night’s vigil, particularly after video of the incident began circulating online.
“I saw the video. You know, we’ve seen enough through the years of police shootings. In this case, I didn’t see the threat,” one vigil participant said.
“I watched the whole video. I have it. I downloaded it. It wasn’t self-defense. The officers were a few feet away from the vehicle, and she was trying to turn to get out of the way,” said another vigil participant, Shannon Barnes.
Good’s death sparked both grief and renewed calls for action. One speaker said:
“We are shaken, but we are not broken,” followed by chants of, “We want justice. We want peace. We want ICE off our streets.”
Demonstrators called for accountability for all officials involved and urged congressional oversight to halt what they described as dangerous enforcement practices.
“It’s going to take the people united to defeat, you know, this crackdown from the Trump administration,” Coronado said.
Similar vigils and protests were held Wednesday night in several cities across the country, including Seattle and New York City, in response to the shooting.
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