Federal agents shot and killed a woman during a large-scale immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis on Wednesday, triggering outrage from state and local officials and renewed scrutiny of federal immigration tactics.
The woman was identified as 37-year-old Renee Nicole Macklin Good, a US citizen, poet and mother of three who had recently moved to Minnesota. She was shot during an operation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which had deployed hundreds of agents to the Minneapolis–St Paul area as part of a crackdown linked partly to alleged fraud involving Somali residents.
Ilhan Omar, the Democratic congresswoman for Minnesota, said the victim was acting as a legal observer monitoring ICE activity.
A witness, Emily Heller, told local media that Macklin Good was shot multiple times in the face while seated in her car. Heller said the vehicle appeared to be blocking traffic during what she described as a protest against ICE operations.
“She was trying to turn around,” Heller told Minnesota Public Radio. “The ICE agent was in front of her car, leaned across the hood and shot her in the face.”
Video footage shared by the Minnesota Reformer and obtained by the Guardian appears to show a dark red SUV reversing away from ICE officers as they move towards it. Gunshots can be heard, though the front of the vehicle is partially obscured. One officer is seen firing as the car moves past him.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed the woman was a “domestic terrorist” who had “weaponised her vehicle” and attempted to run over officers. DHS said several agents were injured but expected to make full recoveries.
However, the videos circulating online appear to contradict that account. No officers are visibly struck, and the SUV appears to be backing away from agents rather than driving into them.
Jacob Frey, the mayor of Minneapolis, said he had reviewed the footage and did not see evidence that the vehicle was used as a weapon. He accused DHS of misrepresenting the incident and said ICE officers were making an already volatile situation worse.
Addressing ICE directly, Frey said: “Get the fuck out of Minneapolis. We do not want you here. Your presence is creating danger, not safety. Somebody is dead.”
Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara said the woman appeared to be blocking the street due to the presence of federal officers, something he noted had occurred in cities across the country. He confirmed the FBI and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension would lead a joint investigation.
Macklin Good’s mother, Donna Ganger, told the Minnesota Star Tribune that her daughter was not involved in protest activity. She described her as compassionate and devoted to caring for others.
Her former husband said she had just dropped off their six-year-old son at school and was driving home with her partner when they encountered ICE agents on a snowy street.
The shooting occurred less than a mile from the site where George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020.
Minnesota governor Tim Walz said he had seen the video and rejected the federal government’s version of events. He announced that the state’s emergency operations centre had been activated and that the National Guard had been placed on standby.
“We’ve warned for weeks that these operations were going to get someone hurt,” Walz said. “Now someone is dead.”
Donald Trump defended the ICE officers in a statement on Truth Social, saying the woman had acted violently and that the agent fired in self-defence. He accused witnesses of being “professional agitators” and blamed what he described as hostility from the political left towards law enforcement.
Protests erupted near the scene shortly after the shooting. Federal agents used chemical irritants to disperse crowds, with witnesses reporting the use of pepper spray and tear gas.
The DHS said the operation in Minnesota involved around 2,000 agents. On Tuesday night, immigrant advocacy groups held training sessions for volunteers planning to observe and document federal enforcement actions.
Investigations into the shooting are ongoing.
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