Stephen Colbert

Screenshot: CBS

Stephen Colbert opened The Late Show Wednesday night not with a comedy bit, as he usually does, but with a condemnation of the fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen in Minneapolis earlier in the day by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.

Speaking directly to camera from his desk, Colbert acknowledged the departure from format before addressing what he called “another shocking tragedy”—the death of Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old woman who was shot during a federal immigration operation in south Minneapolis.

Colbert summarized the conflicting accounts that have emerged since the shooting. Federal officials—including the Department of Homeland Security—have claimed the agent acted in self-defense, alleging that Good attempted to use her vehicle as a weapon. Local officials, however, have disputed that version of events after reviewing bystander video.

“The homeland security secretary claimed [Good] committed an act of domestic terrorism and the agent acted in self-defense,” Colbert said. “But the mayor watched the tape and said it was bullsh*t.”

“I think Governor Walz expressed it well,” Colbert added, before turning the remainder of the show’s cold open over to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s public remarks earlier Wednesday.

“We love this state,” Walz said. “We won’t let them tear us apart. We will not turn against each other.”

The governor went on to call for national solidarity with Minneapolis while directly addressing the federal officials overseeing the operation.

“To Americans, I ask you this: please stand with Minneapolis,” he said. “From here on out, I have a very simple message. We do not need any further help from the federal government. To Donald Trump and Kristi Noem, you’ve done enough.”

According to city officials, Good was a U.S. citizen who was not the subject of any investigation. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Walz have both publicly rejected the federal characterization of the shooting, citing widely circulated video that they say contradicts claims of an imminent threat.

After airing Walz’s remarks, The Late Show transitioned into its opening credits, with Colbert resuming the program’s standard format afterward.

Among the other late-night shows, Jimmy Kimmel was the only other host to address the shooting, echoing in his monologue Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who in public comments Wednesday afternoon told ICE to “get the f*ck out of Minneapolis.”