Minneapolis on edge after fatal shooting of woman by ICE officer

MINNEAPOLIS– Minneapolis was on edge Thursday after the fatal shooting of a woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent participating in the Trump administration’s latest immigration crackdown, with the governor calling on people to remain calm and schools canceling classes and activities as a safety precaution.

State and local officials demanded that ICE leave the state after Renee Nicole Macklin Good, 37, was shot in the head. But Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the agents aren’t going anywhere.

The Department of Homeland Security has deployed more than 2,000 agents to the region in what it says is the largest immigration enforcement operation ever. Noem said more than 1,500 people had been arrested.

Macklin Good’s killing Wednesday morning in a residential neighborhood south of downtown was captured on video by witnesses, and in the evening, hundreds of people came out for a vigil to mourn her and urge the public to resist immigration enforcement. Some then chanted slogans while marching through the city, but there was no violence.

“I wish ICE would leave our town and more community members would come and see this happen,” said Sander Kolodziej, a painter who came to the vigil to support the community.

Videos of the shooting show a police 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 him draws his gun and immediately fires at least two shots at point-blank range, jumping back as the vehicle moves toward him.

It is unclear from the videos whether the vehicle made contact with the agent, and there is no indication whether the woman had any interactions with ICE agents earlier. After the shooting, the SUV rammed into two cars parked on a sidewalk before stopping.

In another recording made later, a woman who identifies Macklin Good as her partner is seen crying near the vehicle. The woman, who has not been identified, says the couple recently arrived in Minnesota and had a child.

Noem called the incident an “act of domestic terrorism” against the ICE agents, saying the driver “attempted to run over them and ram them with her vehicle. One of our agents acted quickly and defensively, shooting, to protect himself and those around him.”

President Donald Trump has made similar accusations on social media and defended the work of ICE.

Noem alleged the woman was part of a “mob of agitators” and said the officer followed his training. She said the FBI would investigate.

But Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called Noem’s version of events “rubbish.”

“They’re already trying to pass this off as a self-defense action,” Frey said. “Having seen the video myself, I want to tell everyone directly that this is bullshit.”

He also criticized the federal deployment and said the agents should leave.

The shooting marked a dramatic escalation in the latest in a series of immigration enforcement operations in major cities under the Trump administration. Wednesday’s death is at least the fifth death linked to the repression.

The Twin Cities have been under tension since DHS announced Tuesday the launch of the operation, at least in part related to fraud allegations involving Somali residents.

A crowd of protesters gathered at the scene after the shooting to express their anger at local and federal officers.

In a scene reminiscent of crackdowns in Los Angeles and Chicago, people chanted “ICE out of Minnesota” and blew whistles that became ubiquitous during the operations.

Governor Tim Walz has said he is prepared to deploy the National Guard if necessary. He expressed outrage at the shooting, but called on people to maintain peaceful protests.

“They want a show,” Walz said. “We can’t give it to them.”

There have been calls on social media to prosecute the officer who shot Macklin Good.

Commissioner Bob Jacobson of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety said state authorities would investigate the shooting with federal authorities.

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Dell’Orto reported from St. Paul, Minnesota. Associated Press reporters Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis, Ed White in Detroit, Valerie Gonzalez in Brownsville, Texas, Mark Vancleave in Las Vegas, Michael Biesecker in Washington, Jim Mustian in New York and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.