The 37-year-old woman was shot in front of a family member during a traffic stop in a snowy residential area south of downtown Minneapolis, just a few blocks from the oldest immigrant markets and about a mile from where George Floyd was killed by the police in 2020. Her murder quickly attracted a crowd of hundreds of angry protesters.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, while visiting Texas, described the incident as an “act of domestic terrorism” committed against ICE officers by a woman who “attempted to run over and ram them with her vehicle. Our officer acted quickly and defensively, shooting to protect himself and those around him.”
In a social media post, President Donald Trump made similar accusations against the woman and defended ICE's work.
Hours later, at an evening press conference in Minnesota, Noem did not back down, saying the woman was part of a “mob of agitators.”
“Any loss of life is a tragedy, and I think we can all agree that it was preventable in this situation,” she said, adding that the FBI would investigate.
But Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey criticized Noem's characterization as “trash” and criticized the federal government's deployment of more than 2,000 officers in the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul as part of a crackdown on immigration.
“What they are doing is not about keeping America safe. What they are doing is causing chaos and mistrust,” Mr. Frey said, calling on immigration agents to leave. “They are tearing families apart. They are wreaking havoc on our streets and in this case literally killing people.”
“They are already trying to portray this as an act of self-defense,” the mayor said. He said that since he had seen the video himself, it was a lie.
Mr. Frey said he had a message for ICE: Get out of Minneapolis.
The shooting was caught on video
Videos taken by passersby from multiple angles and posted on social media show the officer approaching an SUV stopped in the middle of the road, demanding that the driver open the door and grab the handle. The Honda Pilot begins to move forward, and another ICE officer standing in front of the vehicle draws his weapon and immediately fires at least two shots into the vehicle at close range.
It is unclear from the video whether the vehicle made contact with the officer. The SUV then crashed into two cars parked on the side of the road nearby and came to an abrupt stop. Witnesses shouted obscenities, expressing shock at what they saw.
After the shooting, emergency medical personnel attempted to treat the woman.
“She was driving away and they killed her,” said resident Lynette Rainey-Grandell, who was recording video on her phone on the street.
The shooting marked a dramatic escalation of recent events in series of immigration control operations in major cities under the Trump administration. The death of the Minneapolis driver, whose name was not immediately released, was at least the fifth associated with immigration repression.
The Twin Cities have been on edge since DHS announced Tuesday it was launching an operation that is at least partly related to fraud charges with the participation of Somali residents. Call confirmed On Wednesday, DHS deployed more than 2,000 officers to the area and said it had already made “hundreds and hundreds” of arrests.
A large crowd of protesters gathered at the scene after the shooting and expressed their anger at local and federal officers who were there, including Grigory Bovinoa senior U.S. Customs and Border Patrol official who was subject to crackdowns in Los Angeles, Chicago and elsewhere.
In a scene that reminds Los Angeles And Chicago During the crackdown, passersby shouted at the officers, chanting: “Shame! Disgrace! Disgrace!” and “ICE from Minnesota” and passed out the whistles that have become ubiquitous during operations.
Governor calls for calm
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said he is ready to use the National Guard if necessary. He said a family member of the driver witnessed the killing, which he called “predictable” and “preventable.” He also said that, like many, he was outraged by the shooting, but urged people to keep the protests peaceful.
“They want a show. We can't give it to them. We can't,” the governor said at a news conference. “If you are protesting and expressing your First Amendment rights, please do so peacefully, as you always do. We can't give them what they want.”
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara briefly described the shooting to reporters but, unlike federal officials, gave no indication that the driver was trying to harm anyone. He said she was shot in the head.
“This woman was in her vehicle blocking the roadway on Portland Avenue… At some point, a federal law enforcement officer approached her on foot and the vehicle began to drive away,” the chief said. “At least two shots were fired. The vehicle then crashed onto the side of the roadway.”
There have been calls on social media for the officer who shot the driver to be held accountable. Commissioner Bob Jacobson of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety said state authorities will investigate the shooting along with federal authorities.
“Keep in mind that this investigation is also in its infancy. So any speculation about what happened would be just that,” Jacobson told reporters.
The shooting happened in the district of Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, who called it “state violence,” not law enforcement.
For nearly a year, migrant rights advocates and local activists in the Twin Cities have been preparing to mobilize in the event of a surge in immigration enforcement. From houses of worship to mobile home parks, they created highly active online networks, scanning license plates of possible federal vehicles and purchasing whistles and other noise devices to alert neighbors to any law enforcement presence.
