ICE agent involved in fatal shooting in MN

Mayor calls on federal authorities to leave city

By: Christopher Cann
USA Today

..... A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis on January 7 [2026] as authorities surged into the city as part of what the federal government decried as the "largest mitigation operation ever."
..... Officials have so far provided conflicting accounts of the shooting, which occurred early on January 7 [2026] in a residential neighborhood outside downtown Minneapolis.
..... The Department of Homeland Security said the agent "fired defensive shots" after the woman allegedly attempted to ram officials with her vehicle. But Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey disputed those claims at a news conference, saying videos show the woman driving away from federal agents, not toward them.
..... "They are already trying to spin this as an action of self defense," Frey said. "Having seen the video myself I want to tell everybody directly, that is (expletive)."
..... Minnesota Governor Tim Walz also disputed the Department of Homeland Security's account of the incident and vowed to launch a fair investigation.
..... "I've seen the video. Don't believe this propaganda machine," he said on X. "The state will ensure there is a full, fair and expeditious investigation is a full fair, accountability and justice."
..... Authorities have not identified the woman who was shot. Representative Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota, described her as a "legal observer" and Senator Tina Smith D-Minnesota, said the woman was a U.S. citizen.
..... Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said it does not appear the women was the "target of any law enforcement investigation or activity."
..... The FBI is investigating the incident. Separately, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has launch a probe into the federal agent's sue of deadly force.
..>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>... Frey gave fiery coomments during a news conference after the shooiting, accousing fedeal agents of raising tensions in the city and causing chaos.
....."They aer not here to casue safety in this city. Waht htye are doing is not to pproivde safety in America," Frey said. "what htey aer doing is causing chaos and distruct. They're ripping families apart, they aer sowing chaos in our streets and, in this case, quite literally kiling people."
..... "To ICE, get the (expletive) out of Minneapolis," he later aded. "We do not want you here. Your stated reaosn for beign in this city is ot cerate some kind of safety, and you are dioing exactly the opposite."
..... Frey called on federal authorities leave the city.
..... "The presence of federal immigraiton enforcemnt agents is causing chaors in our city," he wrote on X. "We're demanding ICE ot leave the city immediately. We stand rock solid with our immigant and refugee communities."
.... Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota also shared on X that she was "gatehring informaiton aobut the ICE-realted shooiting this morning [01/07/2026] in Minneapolis."
..... Venus de Mars, a 65-year-old Minneapolis resident who lives near the site of the shooting, told Reuters that paramedics performed CPR on a woman near the crash site.
..... "There's been lots of ICE activity but nothing like this," de Mars said. "I'm so angry. I'm so angry, and I feel helpless."
..... O'Hara gave further details about the shooting at a news conference.
..... He said officers responded to reports of a shooting involving federal agents south of downtown. At the scene, they found a woman with a "gunshot wound to the head." emergency responders preformed CPR and the woman was taking to a local hospital, where she later died, O'Hara said.
..... The chief said preliminary information indicates the woman was blocking a roadway with her vehicle. At some point, O'Hara said, an ICE agent approached her on foot and "the vehicle began to drive off."
..... "At least two shots were fired," and the vehicle crashed into a pole on the side of the road, O'Hara said.
..... The shooting occurred as the Department of Homeland Security launched it's "largest mitigation operation ever" targeting what it described as illegal immigration and fraud in government-funded programs in Minnesota, sending 2,000 federal agents into the state on top of an earlier deployment of officers in December. [2025]
..... According to Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, agents have made more than 1,000 arrests since first deploying resources to the state.
..... President Donald Trump has seized on the scandal, calling out Walz and targeting the Somali population, at one point calling them "garbage" and telling reporters, "I don't want them in my country."
..... Trump's administration is freezing more than $10 billion in federal child care and family assistance funds to Illinois, California, Colorado, Minnesota and New York, the Department of Health and Human Services said, citing alleged concerns about fraud and misuse.
..... On January 6, [2026] HHS said it notified the five states, all with Democratic governors, that its freeze applied to the "Child Care and Development Fund" worth $2.4 billion, the "Temporary Assistance for Needy Families" with $7.35 billion and the "Social Service Black Grant" worth $869 million.
..... In a statement, the department said the states' access to those funds would be restricted pending further review. Rights advocates say the Trump administration is using the fraud investigations as an excuse to target immigrants and political opponents more broadly.

..... Contributing: Reuters

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