MINNEAPOLIS (NewsNation) — A woman was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer as the largest ICE immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota history ramps up, Department of Homeland Security officials said.
A DHS spokeswoman confirmed that the woman died after being shot by an ICE officer after the agency said the woman attempted to run over federal agents with her vehicle. The spokesperson said that protesters were blocking ICE officers from conducting a targeted operation when the woman who was shot attempted to strike the officers with her car.
“An ICE officer, fearing for his life, the lives of his fellow law enforcement and the safety of the public, fired defensive shots,” the spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said. “He used his training and saved his own life and that of his fellow officers.”
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said Wednesday that city officers arrived at the scene and found a woman who had sustained a gunshot wound to the head. Lifesaving measures, including CPR, were conducted at the scene, O’Hara said, and the woman was prounounced dead at the hospital.
O’Hara said there is nothing to suggest that the woman was being targeted by federal immigration officers. O’Hara had previously expressed concern about the tactics used by federal law enforcement officers and agents.
“I am obviously very concerned that I have been told that a woman who was sitting in her car blocking the street and not the target of any enforcement activity is now deceased,” O’Hara said, adding that he did not have direct knowledge of the specific details of the shooting.
The FBI and and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which will be conducting the investigation.
“This is obviously a very, very tragic situation where a woman has lost her life,” O’Hara said.
The victim has not been identified, but Minnesota U.S. Sen. Tina Smith said the woman is a U.S. citizen. In a news conference being held in Texas, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said American citizens are safe and shouldn’t be scared.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said the victim is a 37-year-old woman. He said that DHS officials are trying to “spin” the incident as an act of self-defense.
“I want to tell you …that is bull—-,” Frey said, calling it a”garbage narrative …it has no truth.”
An estimated 2,000 federal agents, including members of ICE’s Enforcement Removal Operations team, are scheduled to participate in the operation, which is targeting illegal immigration and fraud allegations involving Somali nationals.
Protesters gathered in the area where the shooting took place and blew whistles, alerting area residents to the presence of ICE officers. McLaughlin described the protesters as “violent rioters” and called the woman’s actions an “act of domestic terrorism.”
Frey criticized the presence of federal agents whom he said he wanted to get the (expletive) out of Minnesota.
“It’s on you to leave. It’s on you to make sure further damage, further loss of life is not done,” Frey said at a news conference after the fatal shooting. “We are working toward justice as quickly as we can right now.
In a statement posted to social media, Minnesota Sen. Omar Fateh wrote that he was on the scene of the shooting, attempting to collect verified information. He wrote that he is deeply concerned about reports that doctors were unable to administer lifesaving CPR to to woman after being blocked by federal immigration officers.
This is a developing story. NewsNation will update it as more information becomes available.
