US agent shoots dead woman they say drove at officers
A US federal officer shot and killed a driver who allegedly tried to run over police officers in Minneapolis during a crackdown on immigration, authorities said.
Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot the woman in her vehicle in a residential area in Minneapolis.
A dark-colored SUV with a bullet hole in the windshield and blood splattered on the headrest was seen crashing into a pole on the snowy street where the shooting took place.
The shooting marks a dramatic escalation in the latest in a series of immigration enforcement operations in major US cities under President Donald Trump’s administration.
This is at least the fifth person killed in a handful of states since 2024.
The twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul have been on edge since DHS announced the launch of the operation on Tuesday; 2,000 agents and officers are expected to take part in the crackdown, linked in part to allegations of fraud involving Somali citizens.
A large crowd of protesters gathered at the scene after the shooting and expressed anger at local and federal officials who were there, including Gregory Bovino, a senior U.S. Customs and Border Patrol official who has been subject to crackdowns in Los Angeles, Chicago and elsewhere.
In a scene reminiscent of crackdowns in Los Angeles and Chicago, bystanders heckled officers and blew whistles that have become ubiquitous during operations.
“Shame! Shame! Shame!” and loudly chanted “ICE out of Minnesota” from behind police tape.
After the shooting, Mayor Jacob Frey said immigration agents were “causing chaos in our city.”
“We demand that ICE leave the city and state immediately. We stand firm with our immigrant and refugee communities,” Frey said on social media.
The area where the shooting occurred is a modest neighborhood south of downtown Minneapolis, just blocks from some of the oldest immigrant markets in the area and less than a mile from where George Floyd was killed by police in 2020.
St. Petersburg, where there is a predominantly Latin community in the region. “We are trying to live life as fully as possible in light of the fear and anxiety we feel,” said the Rev. Hierald Osorto, pastor of St. Paul’s-San Pablo Lutheran Church.
The Immigration Advocacy Network, a coalition of immigrant-serving groups in Minnesota, held a training session Tuesday night for about 100 people willing to take to the streets to monitor federal enforcement.
“I feel like I’m a regular person and I have the ability to do things, so I need to do this,” Mary Moran told KMSP-TV.
via Reuters
