MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — As anger and outrage spilled into the streets of Minneapolis following the fatal shooting of a woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, a new shooting by federal agents in Oregon left two people injured, sparked new protests and sparked increased scrutiny of enforcement operations across the United States.
Hundreds of people protesting the shooting of Renee Good marched in freezing rain Thursday evening on one of Minneapolis’ main thoroughfares, chanting “ICE out now” and holding signs saying “Killer ice on our streets.” Protesters expressed outrage outside a federal facility that serves as a hub for the administration’s latest immigration crackdown in a major city.
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City crews Friday morning removed makeshift barricades made of debris, including trash cans and Christmas trees, that blocked streets in the area of Wednesday’s shooting in an effort to keep streets open, but Minneapolis officials said they would not remove the community-created memorial. About 15 tons (13.6 metric tons) of debris, including metal and tires, were removed, officials said.
The shooting in Portland, Oregon, took place outside a hospital Thursday afternoon. A man and woman were shot inside a vehicle and their conditions were not immediately known. The FBI and the Oregon Department of Justice were investigating.
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson and the City Council have called on ICE to shut down all of its operations in the city until a thorough investigation is completed. Hundreds of people demonstrated Thursday evening in front of the ICE building. Early Friday, Portland police reported that a handful of arrests had been made after officers asked protesters to move to the sidewalk as traffic remained open in the neighborhood.
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Just as it did after Wednesday’s shooting in Minneapolis, the Department of Homeland Security defended the actions of police officers in Portland, saying it happened after a Venezuelan man suspected of having gang ties and who was involved in a recent shooting attempted to “weaponize” his vehicle to hit officers. It was not yet clear whether the witness’s video corroborated that account.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, President Donald Trump and others in his administration have repeatedly called the Minneapolis shooting an act of self-defense and called Good evil, suggesting she used her vehicle as a weapon to attack the officer who shot her.
Vice President JD Vance said the shooting was justified and that Good, 37, a mother of three, was a “victim of left-wing ideology.”
WATCH: Walz says Minnesota must play role in ICE investigation into Renee Good’s killing
“I can believe that her death is a tragedy while recognizing that it is a tragedy that she herself caused,” Vance said, noting that the officer who killed her was injured during his arrest last June.
But state and local officials and protesters have rejected that characterization, with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey saying video recordings show the self-defense argument is “garbage.”
Immigration crackdown quickly turns deadly
The Minneapolis shootings occurred on the second day of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, which Homeland Security said is the largest immigration enforcement operation ever. More than 2,000 police officers are involved, and Noem said she has made more than 1,500 arrests.
It sparked an immediate backlash in the city where police killed George Floyd in 2020, with hundreds of people coming to the scene to express outrage at ICE agents and the school district who canceled classes for the rest of the week as a precaution.
Good’s death – at least the fifth linked to a wave of immigration since Trump came to power – resonated well beyond Minneapolis, as protests took place or were expected this week in many major US cities.
Who will investigate?
The Minnesota agency charged with investigating police-involved shootings said Thursday it had been informed that the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice would not work with it, effectively ending any state role in determining whether crimes had been committed. Noem said the state had no jurisdiction.
“Without full access to evidence, witnesses and collected information, we cannot meet the investigative standards required by Minnesota law and the public,” said Drew Evans, chief of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz demanded that the state be allowed to participate, repeatedly emphasizing that it would be “very difficult for Minnesotans” to accept that an investigation excluding the state could be fair.
Deadly encounter seen from several angles
Several passersby filmed Good’s murder, which occurred in a neighborhood south of downtown.
The recordings show a police officer approaching an SUV stopped in the middle of the road, demanding that the driver open the door and grab the handle. The Honda Pilot begins to move forward and another ICE officer standing in front of him draws his gun and immediately fires at least two shots at point-blank range, jumping back as the vehicle moves toward him.
It is unclear from the videos whether the vehicle made contact with the officer, and there is no indication whether the woman had any interactions with officers earlier. After the shooting, the SUV rammed into two cars parked on a sidewalk before stopping.
Officer identified in records
The federal agent who killed Good is an Iraq War veteran who served for nearly two decades in the Border Patrol and ICE, according to records obtained by AP.
Noem did not name him publicly, but a Homeland Security spokesperson said her description of his injuries last summer referred to an incident in Bloomington, Minn., in which court documents identified him as Jonathan Ross.
Ross got his arm stuck in the window of a vehicle whose driver was fleeing arrest for immigration violations. Ross was dragged away and fired his Taser. A jury found the driver guilty of assaulting a federal agent with a dangerous weapon.
Attempts to reach Ross, 43, at the phone numbers and email addresses associated with him were unsuccessful.
Associated Press journalists Steve Karnowski and Mark Vancleave in Minneapolis; Ed White in Detroit; Valerie Gonzalez in Brownsville, Texas; Graham Lee Brewer in Norman, Oklahoma; Michael Biesecker in Washington; Jim Mustian in New York; Ryan Foley in Iowa City, Iowa; and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this report.
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