Minneapolis shooting: Trump defends immigration officer who killed US woman, says it ‘appears to be self-defence’

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (local time) defended the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Officer after a woman was shot dead in Minneapolis while the federal agency was carrying out one of their "targeted operations". The US president said that the woman 'violently, willfully, and viciously' ran over the ICE Officer, who seems to have shot her in self-defence. President Trump further said that the situation is being studied in its entirety and blamed the "radical left" for assaulting and targeting American law enforcement officers.

In a post on Truth Social, the US President said, "I have just viewed the clip of the event which took place in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is a horrible thing to watch. The woman screaming was, obviously, a professional agitator, and the woman driving the car was very disorderly, obstructing and resisting, who then violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer, who seems to have shot her in self-defense."

He urged the need to stand by and protect the law enforcement officers from the "Radical Left Movement of Violence and Hate!"


"Based on the attached clip, it is hard to believe he is alive, but is now recovering in the hospital. The situation is being studied, in its entirety, but the reason these incidents are happening is because the Radical Left is threatening, assaulting, and targeting our Law Enforcement Officers and ICE Agents on a daily basis. They are just trying to do the job of MAKING AMERICA SAFE. We need to stand by and protect our Law Enforcement Officers from this Radical Left Movement of Violence and Hate!"

The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement on Wednesday (local time), after a woman was shot dead by an US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Officer, stating that the Officer fired defensive shots, fearing for his life, the lives of his fellow law enforcement and the safety of the public.

In a post on X, the Department of Homeland Security said that ICE Officers were conducting "targeted operations" in Minneapolis when rioters began blocking the ICE officers and one of the "violent rioters" attempted to run over the officers in an attempt to kill them, which it called "an act of domestic terrorism."

The statement said that an ICE officer, fearing for his life, the lives of his fellow law enforcement and the safety of the public, fired defensive shots.

Responding to the statement, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said that the state will ensure there is a full, fair, and expeditious investigation to ensure accountability and justice.

On the shooting, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said, "The presence of federal immigration enforcement agents is causing chaos in our city. We're demanding ICE to leave the city immediately. We stand rock solid with our immigrant and refugee communities."

CNN noted that the shooting happened as Minnesota faces an immigration crackdown amid a nationwide enforcement push by the Trump administration.

Around 2,000 federal agents were being deployed to Minneapolis, CNN reported citing two law enforcement sources.