Minneapolis ICE shooting: Witnesses allege agents blocked medical help

Minneapolis incident involving ICE agent raises questions about self-defense claims and handling of the victim.

A fatal shooting involving an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minneapolis has triggered protests, political fallout, and growing scrutiny of how federal officers handled the aftermath. The incident, which occurred on Wednesday local time on a residential street, was captured on video and has circulated widely online.

The incident, which occurred Wednesday local time, on a residential street, was captured in a video circulated online.(AP)

Footage from the scene shows ICE agents stopping several vehicles and ordering the occupants to exit. As one car appears to move away, gunshots can be heard. The woman driving the vehicle was fatally wounded and later pronounced dead.

Federal officials have defended the agent’s actions, while local leaders have offered a more limited account of what unfolded. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the ICE agent acted in self-defense, and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem described the incident as an act of “domestic terrorism,” The Mirror US reported.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, however, stopped short of saying the woman tried to harm anyone.

“This woman was in her vehicle and was blocking the roadway on Portland Avenue,” O’Hara said, as quoted by The Mirror US. “At some point a federal law enforcement officer approached her on foot and the vehicle began to drive off. At least two shots were fired. The vehicle then crashed on the side of the roadway.” O’Hara said the woman was shot in the head.

What witnesses say happened next

Witnesses told local outlet Fox 9 Minneapolis that ICE agents prevented medical help from reaching the woman immediately after she was shot. A doctor who was at the scene reportedly attempted to render aid but was blocked by ICE agents for about 15 minutes.

Witnesses also said that when an ambulance arrived, ICE vehicles positioned in the street delayed paramedics from accessing the victim. They told Fox 9 that agents later carried the woman’s “limp body” to the end of the street, where she was loaded into the ambulance.

DHS did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the claims that medical assistance was delayed.