How the killing of Renee Good by an immigration agent triggered unrest in Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS, Jan 9 —The White House said yesterday US law enforcement was under “organized attack” as protesters clashed with officers in Minneapolis following a woman’s fatal shooting by an immigration agent.

Victim Renee Nicole Good, 37, was shot in the head as she apparently tried to drive away from agents approaching her car, which they said blocked their way.

Vice President JD Vance said, without providing evidence, she was part of a “broader left-wing network” opposed to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and insisted the officer acted in “self-defense.”

Federal immigration officers armed with pepperball guns and tear gas wrestled several protesters to the ground Thursday, as large, noisy crowds gathered around Minneapolis to chant slogans against ICE. More protests are planned.

Footage from Wednesday shows a masked agent attempt to open Good’s car door before another officer, standing near the front bumper, fired three times into the Honda SUV.

The vehicle veered into parked cars, as horrified onlookers hurled abuse at the federal officers before her bloodied body appeared slumped at the wheel.

Good leaves behind a wife and six-year-old, officials said. More than $800,000 has been fundraised for her family.

President Donald Trump and senior officials quickly claimed Good was trying to kill the agents, an assertion local leaders rubbished.

“I want to see nobody get shot. I want to see nobody screaming and trying to run over policemen either,” Trump told The New York Times.

Witness Tyrice told US media he heard “three gunshots and then I hear a car crash.”

“I see this lady hugging the victim,” he said.

“There’s blood all in the snow in front of our house. I could see a lady in the car...You could see the wounds and everything, like a whole bunch of blood.”

Good, a US citizen, was not the target of immigration enforcement action and was only suspected of blocking traffic, police said.

Vance alleged Thursday Good was “part of a broader left-wing network to attack, to doxx, to assault and to make it impossible for our ICE officers to do their job.”

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said “law enforcement are under organized attack.”

Immigrant deportations 

Protests grew after Minnesota’s Democratic Governor Walz called it a “patriotic duty” to demonstrate.

On Thursday he said Minnesota must participate in the shooting probe alongside federal investigators—otherwise Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem “is judge, jury and basically executioner.”

But Vance suggested the officer would be cleared by a federal probe that would exclude state-level officials.

“The idea that this was not justified is absurd,” he said.

Minneapolis schools were closed Thursday and Friday in anticipation of unrest.

ICE is at the forefront of Trump’s immigrant deportation drive, carrying out raids despite local opposition.

Wednesday’s incident came during protests over immigration enforcement in southern Minneapolis, where locals are expressing widespread anger over Trump’s vow to arrest and deport “millions” of undocumented people.

The victim’s mother, Donna Ganger, told the Minnesota Star Tribune her daughter “was probably terrified” and “not part” of anti-ICE activity.

Good was a poet who studied creative writing at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, US media reported.

Religious leaders addressed crowds at the scene, where a growing memorial of flowers and candles was erected to commemorate Good’s life.

“Hate does not make us great,” said one banner.

Nearby, Abdinasir Abdullahi, 38, a naturalized US citizen originally from Ethiopia, told AFP he goes nowhere without his passport for fear of ICE.

“They don’t trust if I say I’m a citizen, they don’t want to trust you,” he said. — AFP