An ICE agent shot and killed an American woman during a chaotic raid on Wednesday in Minneapolis.
Footage shows an agent yelling, “Get out of the f---ing car!” as a maroon Honda SUV begins rolling forward on a residential street she appeared to have been blocking.
An agent then fires three shots through the windshield of the car. The vehicle travels about 100 feet further before it crashes into another car parked on the street as onlookers scream, “What the f---?”
Most of the ICE agents at the scene retreated to their vehicles afterward. One is seen pulling up his neck gaiter to fully cover his mouth and nose.
Meanwhile, a recording onlooker rushes to the bloodied vehicle to check on the woman, but officers order her away. The woman recording responds by yelling at an agent, “You f--king shot someone in the f--king face.”
Photos from the scene—a mile north of where George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis cop in 2020—show a bullet hole through the vehicle’s windshield.
Local officials said the slain woman was 37, but did not release her name. Democratic Sen. Tina Smith said that she was an American citizen. Photos from the scene showed children’s toys inside her vehicle, including a plush animal.
Minneapolis City Council member Jason Chavez told ABC News that the victim was a U.S. citizen who “was an observer” and was “watching out for our immigrant neighbors.” Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the shooting is being investigated jointly by the FBI and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
The Department of Homeland Security claimed that the ICE agent opened fire in self-defense when “rioters” began blocking officers. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the woman was trying to run agents over, but witnesses say the footage does not back that claim up.
“ICE officers in Minneapolis were conducting targeted operations when rioters began blocking ICE officers, and one of these violent rioters weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them—an act of domestic terrorism,” DHS said.
Its statement continued, “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.”
Other reports from the scene described the slain woman as a protester and a “legal observer.”
Minnesota’s Democratic Gov. Tim Walz called DHS a “propaganda machine” and urged the public not to buy its explanation of what occurred. He promised a thorough investigation and justice.
“The state will ensure there is a full, fair, and expeditious investigation to ensure accountability and justice,” he said.
The killing comes on day two of ICE’s “largest immigration operation ever” in Minneapolis, which Mayor Jacob Frey says has led to “chaos” in the city. Frey rejected the DHS claim that the killing was an act of self-defense.
“This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying,” he said in a news conference.
Frey said the woman involved was not trying to “ram” officers, as Noem claimed.
The shooting appears to have further amplified protests in South Minneapolis, as videos show protesters clashing with agents on the ground.
