0
• Woman in SUV shot at point-blank range by an agent
• Outrage intensifies after Trump calls act ‘self-defence’; official accuses victim of ‘domestic terrorism’
• Officers use tear gas, make arrests during demonstrations
MINNEAPOLIS: Protesters clashed with federal law enforcement officers in Minneapolis on Thursday, a day after an immigration agent shot and killed a woman in Minnesota, sparking outrage that was intensified by Trump administration officials labelling the incident an act of “domestic terrorism”.
Federal officers using pepperball guns and tear gas scuffled with a large crowd of demonstrators beside a government facility in Fort Snelling, just outside Minneapolis.
Protesters chanted slogans criticising the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency as officers pushed against the crowd, detaining several people, including one who struck an agent with a cardboard sign.
The protest followed the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good, 37, on Wednesday. According to witness accounts and video footage, Good was shot at point-blank range as she apparently tried to drive away from agents who were crowding around her car, which they said was blocking their way.
Footage of the incident shows one masked ICE agent attempting to open the woman’s car door before another agent fired three times into the Honda SUV. The vehicle then hurtled out of control and smashed into stationary vehicles. Her bloodied body could be seen slumped inside the crashed SUV.
The shooting drew swift and conflicting reactions from top officials. President Donald Trump claimed the agents acted in self-defence.
“I want to see nobody get shot. I want to see nobody screaming and trying to run over policemen either,” Trump said in an interview with The New York Times.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem spoke in favour of ICE agent calling the incident “domestic terrorism”. In contrast, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called that assertion “bullshit.”
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara told CNN that Good was not the target of any immigration enforcement action and was only suspected of blocking traffic. On social media, Vice President JD Vance described the victim as “a deranged leftist”.
Protests grew after Minnesota’s Democratic Gov Tim Walz called it a “patriotic duty” to demonstrate for justice. “But it needs to be done safely,” Walz said.
Wednesday’s incident occurred during a protest against immigration enforcement in southern Minneapolis. Witness Brandon Hewitt told MS NOW that he heard three shots. “I got a bunch of video of them carrying the body to the ambulance,” he said.
Another witness described a grisly scene to local station FOX9, saying “the surviving passenger got out of the car covered in blood.” He said he saw a man who identified himself as a doctor try to reach Good but was denied access by officers.
The victim’s mother, Donna Ganger, told the Minnesota Star Tribune that her daughter “was probably terrified.” Good was “not part of anything like” challenging ICE officers, Ganger added.
Good was a mother and a poet who studied creative writing at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, according to US media reports.
ICE federal agents have been at the forefront of the Trump administration’s immigration deportation drive. A DHS recruitment campaign launched last summer aims to add 10,000 agents to the 6,000-strong force, sparking criticism that new officers are insufficiently trained.
US authorities said up to 2,000 officers were in Minneapolis for immigration sweeps. The shooting follows a similar incident in Chicago in September, where an officer shot dead an undocumented immigrant after authorities alleged the man tried to resist detention by driving his car into the official.
Published in Dawn, January 9th, 2026
