ICE officer kills a Minneapolis driver in a deadly start to Trump’s latest immigration operation

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a driver in Minneapolis on Wednesday, in the Trump administration’s latest crackdown on a major American city; a shooting that federal authorities said was an act of self-defense but that the mayor described as reckless and unnecessary.

The 37-year-old woman was shot in front of a family member at a traffic stop in a snowy residential area south of downtown Minneapolis, just blocks from the oldest immigrant markets and about a mile from where George Floyd was killed by police in 2020. His killing quickly drew 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 “tried to ram and ram them with her vehicle. One of our officers acted quickly and defensively to protect himself and the people around him by shooting.”

But Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called that characterization “garbage” and said it was part of a crackdown on immigrants in Minneapolis and St. He criticized the federal deployment of more than 2,000 officers to the St. Paul Twin Cities.

Frey called on immigration officials to leave the country and said, “What they are doing is not ensuring security in America. What they are doing is causing chaos and insecurity.” “They are tearing families apart, sowing chaos on our streets, and in this case, literally killing people.”

“They’re already trying to spin this as an act of self-defense. Having watched the video myself, I want to tell everyone directly that this is bullshit,” the mayor said.

Frey said he had a message for ICE: “Get out of Minneapolis.”

Police tape surrounds a vehicle suspected of being involved in a shooting by an ICE agent during federal law enforcement operations Wednesday.

(Stephen Olgun / Getty Images)

A shooting caught on video

Videos shot by bystanders from different vantage points and posted on social media show a police officer approaching an SUV, stopping in the middle of the road and demanding the driver open the door and hold the handle. The Honda Pilot begins to pull forward and a different IYM officer standing in front of the vehicle draws his gun and immediately fires at least two shots at the vehicle from close range, jumping back as the vehicle moves towards him.

It was not clear from the videos whether the vehicle contacted the officer or not. The SUV then crashed into two parked vehicles on the nearby sidewalk and came to a stop. Eyewitnesses expressed shock at what they saw and shouted obscenities.

After the conflict, emergency medical technicians tried to intervene with the woman.

“He was driving away and they killed him,” said resident Lynette Reini-Grandell, who was outside recording video on her phone.

Conflict has marked a dramatic escalation in recent times. a series of immigration enforcement operations in major cities under the Trump administration. Death of Minneapolis driver whose name was not immediately released at least the fifth linked to migration pressures.

The Twin Cities have been on edge since DHS announced Tuesday it was launching the operation, which is at least partly related. fraud allegations It includes Somali residents. noem confirmed On Wednesday, DHS said it had deployed more than 2,000 officers to the area and had already arrested “hundreds” of people.

Protesters react after being hit with chemical spray following a shooting in Minneapolis.

(Alex Kormann / Associated Press)

Following the shooting, a large crowd of protesters gathered at the scene and expressed their anger at local and federal officials who were present. Gregory BovinoA senior U.S. Customs and Border Patrol official under pressure in Los Angeles, Chicago and elsewhere.

In a scene that reminds me of the past Los Angeles And Chicago During the pressure, people around shouted “Shame! Shame! Shame!” He cornered the officers by chanting slogans. and “ICE out of Minnesota” and blew whistles that became ubiquitous during operations.

Shootings involving drivers during immigration actions have been a problem since the raids began in Southern California.

In August, masked U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in San Bernardino opened fire on a truck they stopped on the street. The video shows an agent demanding the driver roll down his window. When he refused, an agent broke the window, the truck drove away and gunshots rang out.

When the driver came home, the family reported the situation to the police. Federal authorities claimed one agent was injured when the driver tried to “run them over.” But witnesses and video disputed some aspects of the official narrative.

In October, a prominent TikTok figure was shot by an agent during a standoff in Los Angeles. The U.S. attorney said the man crashed his vehicle into law enforcement vehicles in front of and behind him, “punching tires, sending smoke and debris into the air, causing the car to roll over, and causing agents to fear for their safety.” But the videos showed a much more complex view of the situation. A federal judge recently dismissed the lawsuit against the driver, finding that he was denied access to an attorney during his time in immigration detention.

Governor calls for calm

In Minnesota on Wednesday, Gov. Tim Walz said he was ready to deploy the National Guard if necessary. He said a member of the driver’s family was there to witness the killing, which he described as “predictable” and “preventable.” He also said he, like many others, was outraged by the attack but urged people to keep the protests peaceful.

“They want a demonstration. We can’t give it to them. We can’t give it to them,” the governor said at a press conference. “If you are protesting and expressing your 1st Amendment rights, please do so peacefully as you always have. We cannot give them what they want.”

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara briefly described the shooting to reporters but, unlike federal authorities, gave no indication that the driver was trying to harm anyone. He said he was shot in the head.

“This woman was in her vehicle blocking the roadway on Portland Boulevard. … At one point a federal law enforcement officer approached her on foot and the vehicle began to move,” the chief said. “At least two shots were fired. The vehicle then crashed on the side of the road.”

Calls were made on social media for the police officer who shot the driver to be prosecuted. Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson said state officials would investigate the attack with federal authorities.

“Keep in mind that this is an investigation in its infancy. So any speculation about what happened would be just that,” Jacobson told reporters.

The shooting occurred in the district of Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, who called the incident “state violence” and not law enforcement.

For nearly a year, immigrant rights advocates and neighborhood activists in the Twin Cities have been preparing to take action if enforcement against immigrants increases. They set up active online networks from houses of worship to mobile home parks, scanning license plates for possible federal vehicles and purchasing whistles and other noise-making devices to alert neighborhoods to any enforcement presence.

Sullivan and Dell’Orto write for the Associated Press. Dell’Orto, St. Paul reported from Minn. AP writers Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis, Ed White in Detroit, Valerie Gonzalez in Brownsville, Texas, and Mark Vancleave in Las Vegas and Times staff contributed to this report.