Footage of an immigration agent shooting a woman in the US has circulated online, as officials have criticised Trump for his response that it was in 'self-defence'.
Renee Nicole Good, 37, was killed by an ICE agent yesterday, as the Department of Homeland Security described her as a 'violent rioter' who tried to run over ICE agents.
Videos online show that Good was fatally shot while in her vehicle. Speaking in a press conference following the incident on Wednesday (7 January), Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said: “They're already trying to spin this as an action of self-defence.
“Having seen the video myself, I want to tell everybody directly - that is bulls**t.”
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Addressing ICE agents, he plainly stated that 'we do not want you here', explaining: “This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying, getting killed.”
Visibly angry, Frey even told ICE: “Get the f*** out of Minneapolis.”
As the mayor spoke of Trump and his government's 'garbage narrative', he added: "We’re demanding ICE to leave the city immediately. We stand rock solid with our immigrant and refugee communities."
'She was an amazing human being'
Good's mother, Donna Ganger, told the Minnesota Star Tribune that her daughter 'was one of the kindest people I’ve ever known'.
“She was extremely compassionate. She’s taken care of people all her life. She was loving, forgiving and affectionate. She was an amazing human being.”
Trump had called for hundreds of ICE agents to be deployed to Minneapolis in the state of Minnesota, as the president aims to follow through on his promises to crack down on illegal immigration.
It's believed that the shooting took place around 10:25am local time yesterday. Footage online appeared to show an SUV blocking a street, with a crowd of people protesting lining the pavement, as a law enforcement officer told the woman to get out of the vehicle.
It isn't clear if the agent is struck, but the same agent opened fire on the car as it attempted to drive off, with three pop sounds heard before the vehicle lost control and crashed.
Trump claims ICE agents acted in self-defence
In response to the incident, Trump said in a statement on Truth Social: “I have just viewed the clip of the event which took place in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is a horrible thing to watch.
"The woman screaming was, obviously, a professional agitator, and the woman driving the car was very disorderly, obstructing and resisting, who then violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer, who seems to have shot her in self defense.”
The president then claimed that these things happen due to the 'Radical Left threatening, assaulting, and targeting our Law Enforcement Officers and ICE Agents on a daily basis'.
He concluded: “They are just trying to do the job of MAKING AMERICA SAFE. We need to stand by and protect our Law Enforcement Officers from this Radical Left Movement of Violence and Hate!”
US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that Good was 'stalking and impeding' officers earlier in the day and that she attempted to 'weaponise her vehicle' in an act of 'domestic terrorism'.
She claimed that the gunshots from the agent were 'defensive shots' and that he also ended up injured before being treated and discharged from hospital.
Noem said that ICE operations in the city would continue regardless, with yesterday's incident being investigated by the FBI.
A statement was released by the Minneapolis City Council, saying that Good was 'caring for her neighbours' before being shot and killed.
Protests and marches have taken place in the city as a result, with the shooting just one mile from the street where George Floyd was murdered by a city police officer in 2020.
Topics: US News, Donald Trump, Social Media, Politics
Joshua Nair