An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis on Wednesday, according to federal and local authorities. The shooting occurred less than 24 hours after the Trump administration announced a large-scale immigration crackdown was underway in Minnesota.
In a statement, Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said ICE agents were met by "rioters" during a targeted operation. McLaughlin accused the victim of being "one of these violent rioters" who "weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them."
"An ICE officer, fearing for his life, the lives of his fellow law enforcement and the safety of the public, fired defensive shots," she added.
Local authorities have raised concerns about the circumstances behind the shooting. At a fiery press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said ICE was "trying to spin this as an action of self-defense. Having seen the video myself, I want to tell everybody that is bull***. "
"This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying, getting killed," he added.
The mayor called on ICE agents to leave the city, asserting that federal immigration authorities were ripping families apart and sowing chaos on Minneapolis streets.
At the same press conference, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said local police arrived at the scene to find a woman with a gunshot wound to the head. They performed life-saving measures at the scene, including CPR. The woman was transported to Hennepin County Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead, he added.
Preliminary information, according to O'Hara, indicates that the woman was in her vehicle and blocking the road on Portland Avenue between 33rd and 34th St.
"At some point, a federal law enforcement approached her on foot, and the vehicle began to drive off. At least two shots were fired," he said, adding that the car then crashed on the side of the roadway.
O'Hara said he was "very concerned" with the tactics used by federal immigration agents. He noted that the use of deadly force is justified at times, but that most law enforcement agencies in the U.S. are trained to minimize the risks and the need for deadly force.
"In any professional law enforcement agency in the country, I think they would tell you it's obviously very concerning whenever there's a shooting into a vehicle of someone who's not armed," he said.
Minneapolis police have turned over the investigation to the FBI and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. They will investigate the use of deadly force.
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