A sullen and introspective Governor Tim Walz talked to Minnesota Wednesday afternoon, hours after an ICE agent shot and killed a 37-year old white woman, who was not a target of federal agents, in south Minneapolis.
The woman shot has now been identified as Renee Nicole Good.
The governor said he’s prepared to deploy the National Guard if necessary. He also said that like many, he is outraged about the killing, which he described as “predictable” and “avoidable.” But he called for calm.
“They want a show. We can’t give it to them. We cannot,” the governor said during a news conference. “If you protest and express your First Amendment rights, please do so peacefully, as you always do. We can’t give them what they want.”
The Minnesota State Patrol has mobilized 85 members of its Mobile Response Team to support law enforcement efforts in the Twin Cities. The National Guard remains on standby and prepared to deploy if needed to assist with public safety and emergency response operations, according to the governor.
“Our top priority is keeping Minnesotans safe,” said Governor Walz. “State and local leaders are taking every step to support law enforcement and protect residents, and state resources have been deployed to ensure our neighborhoods remain safe. We have repeatedly warned that this federal mobilization was putting residents at risk. I encourage Minnesotans to remain calm. This mobilization was about putting on a show from the beginning – let’s not give it to them.”
Walz also lamented that they don't get any notification these federal operations are taking place.
"This was totally predictable, as I said it yesterday, and it was totally avoidable," Walz added. "And I just wanted to remind you too that local law enforcement, we get no coordination. They don't tell us they're coming. They don't say why they're sending the largest deployment in American history to Minneapolis. They're not they're not making us any safer. We don't have any of that coordination."
He also shared his anger and frustration with the situation, saying this "war with the federal government" is unprecedented.
"To Minnesotans, I say this, I feel your anger. I'm angry," he said.
A joint statement released by the City Council named the woman Wednesday afternoon. It was signed onto by Council President Elliott Payne (Ward 1), Vice President Jamal Osman (Ward 6), Council Members Robin Wonsley (Ward 2), Pearll Warren (Ward 5), Elizabeth Shaffer (Ward 7), Soren Stevenson (Ward 8), Jason Chavez (Ward 9), Aisha Chughtai (Ward 10), Jamison Whiting (Ward 11), Aurin Chowdhury (Ward 12), and Linea Palmisano (Ward 13).
“This morning an Ice agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, a member of our community. Renee was a resident of our city who was out caring for her neighbors this morning and her life was taken today at the hands of the federal government. Anyone who kills someone in our city deserves to be arrested, investigated, and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
We are united in our support for our immigrant community and our residents in the wake of these attacks. We demand that ICE immediately leave our city so we can get rid of their chaos and violence that ended the life of one of our neighbors today.
The City Council stands committed to working with our state partners in doing everything we can to protect our neighbors in this moment.
Now is the time to reach out and support your immigrant neighbors. Minneapolis is resilient and will not back down as the federal government ramps up their attacks on our community.”
Federal response differs greatly from local leaders
President Donald Trump has posted a statement on social media in response to the shooting.
The president says he viewed the clipping of the shooting, calling it a "horrible thing to watch," and e called the woman who was shot a "professional agitator who was disorderly, obstructing, and resisting."
Mr. Trump also claimed the woman violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE officer who seems, the president said, to have shot her in self-defense. Trump added "the radical left has been threatening, assaulting, and targeting law enforcement on a daily basis."
“Based on the attached clip, it is hard to believe he is alive, but is now recovering in the hospital,” Trump said of the ICE officer.
There is no evidence the officer was actually ran over, as the president claims, but it does appear he was at least bumped by the vehicle. Video shows the man off to the side of the vehicle after firing shots, and then moving towards where the vehicle ran into a parked car.
There's been no information on whether the woman was trying to flee.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement the ICE officers who were hurt are expected to make full recoveries, but there is no information on the extent of any injuries.
Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem is said to be on her way to Minneapolis late Wednesday, and expected to speak about the incident after 5:00 p.m. Earlier, she made some dubious claims while speaking in Texas.
"It was an act of domestic terrorism," she said. "What happened was our ICE officers were out in an enforcement action, they got stuck in the snow because of the adverse weather that is in Minneapolis. They were attempting to push out their vehicle and a woman attacked them and those surrounding them and attempted to run them over and ram them with her vehicle. An officer of ours acted quickly and defensively shot, to protect himself and the people around him."
According to the Associated Press, the woman, who is still unnamed, is at least the fifth death to result from the aggressive U.S. immigration crackdown the Trump administration launched last year.
No officers or agents have been charged in the deaths.
Governor and Mayor call for peaceful protests
Meanwhile, protesters are marching toward downtown Minneapolis, after spending the day at the site the woman was shot, near Portland Ave. and 33rd Street.
They were demanding justice for the woman killed by ICE agents. The massive procession reached the heart of the city, near the Hennepin County Government Center, where organizers are calling for immediate transparency and federal accountability.
Governor Walz, along with Mayor Frey, have been outspoken Wednesday about the right for people to protest, but to do so peacefully.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara briefly described the shooting to reporters. Unlike federal officials, O’Hara didn’t say the driver was trying to harm anyone. He said she had been shot in the head.
A vigil is planned for the woman killed
An immigrant rights group says on Facebook that it will hold a vigil for the woman who was shot.
“We witnessed an atrocious attack on our community today,” read the post from the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee. “Community members were taken from us and an observer was shot dead. ICE OUT OF MINNESOTA NOW.”
Why is the Minneapolis area the target of what immigration enforcement describes as its largest operation?
Minnesota initially grabbed President Donald Trump’s and Republicans’ attention over a series of fraud cases where many of the defendants had roots in Somalia. Prosecutors say that billions of dollars were stolen from federally funded health care benefits and a COVID-19 program in recent years.
Minnesota has the largest Somali population in the U.S., a group Trump called “garbage” in December and said he didn’t want them in the country.
The president has also criticized Democratic Gov. Walz for failing to catch the alleged crimes.
Late last month, a right-wing influencer posted a video claiming that a day care center in Minneapolis run by Somali residents had taken over $100 million in fraud. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel then posted on social media about increased operations in the city partly targeting, as Patel put it, “large-scale fraud schemes.”
On Tuesday, DHS said it planned to deploy 2,000 federal agents and officers to the Minneapolis area.
“This woman was in her vehicle and was blocking the roadway on Portland Avenue. ... At some point a federal law enforcement officer approached her on foot and the vehicle began to drive off,” the chief said.
“At least two shots were fired. The vehicle then crashed on the side of the roadway.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.