The Department of Homeland Security has confirmed that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer fatally shot a woman during an enforcement operation in Minneapolis on Wednesday, prompting investigations and differing accounts from federal and state officials.
According to DHS, ICE officers were conducting a targeted operation when a confrontation occurred involving protesters and multiple vehicles. DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said on social media that officers were blocked by what she described as “violent rioters,” and that one individual used a vehicle in an attempt to strike officers. McLaughlin said an ICE officer fired “defensive shots” after fearing for his life and the safety of others. DHS stated that the woman who was struck was pronounced dead at the scene and that injured officers are expected to recover.
Today, ICE officers in Minneapolis were conducting targeted operations when rioters began blocking ICE officers and one of these violent rioters weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them—an act of domestic terrorism.…
— Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) January 7, 2026
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem echoed that account, describing the incident as an attack on law enforcement in which an officer responded defensively to an alleged attempt to run officers down with a vehicle.
WATCH: Secretary Noem holds press conference on domestic terror attack in Minneapolis against ICE agents. https://t.co/Nx7vYqUeZi
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) January 7, 2026
Minnesota officials urged calm as details continued to emerge. Gov. Tim Walz said his public safety team was responding to the incident and that authorities would share more information as it becomes available. Walz later confirmed he issued a “warning order” to prepare the Minnesota National Guard, citing concerns about public safety and the potential for unrest.
Reporting by the Associated Press and multiple local outlets described bystander video circulating online that shows an SUV stopped across a roadway surrounded by law enforcement vehicles. In the footage, an officer appears to approach the driver’s side door and attempt to open it. As the vehicle begins to move forward on course to collide with another officer positioned in front of the SUV, he draws a weapon and fires multiple shots at close range before stepping back. The SUV then accelerates, collides with two parked vehicles, and comes to a stop.
It remains unclear from the videos whether the vehicle made contact with any officers prior to the shooting or what interactions, if any, occurred before the recordings began.
The woman who was killed was identified by family members as 37-year-old Renee Nicole Macklin Good. According to her family, she was shot in the head and was with a relative at the time. Her mother told the Minnesota Star Tribune that Macklin Good was the mother of a 6-year-old child. Social media profiles described her as a writer and poet originally from Colorado.
Local and federal authorities have not yet released full details about the ICE operation that preceded the incident or whether Macklin Good was a target of enforcement action. Investigations into the shooting are ongoing, and officials said additional information will be released as it becomes available.
As of Wednesday evening, state leaders emphasized de-escalation and public safety while awaiting the results of official reviews into the use of force.
(AI was used in part to facilitate this article.)