By Christine Persichette
“It’s so sad, it’s like you have to do something, you can’t just sit back on the sidelines.”
Grief and outrage are spreading after an ICE agent fatally shot a 37-year-old woman in her vehicle in Minneapolis on Wednesday.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said, “There is every reason to believe that Renee Nicole Goode lost her life trying to help the most vulnerable neighbors in her community.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended the agent and claimed the woman tried to run him over, saying the shooting was done in self-defense.
“When they demanded and commanded her to get out of her vehicle several times, she did not,” Noem said. “This is an experienced officer who followed his training, and we will continue to let the investigation unfold.”
But Minnesota Governor Tim Walz referred to the events as a “brazen use of force.”
“We have learned that the Trump administration has now denied the state that ability to participate in the investigation,” Walz said. “Minnesota must be part of this investigation.”
Walz called on federal authorities to work with state and local officials to de-escalate tensions in the community and urged protesters to remain peaceful.
The Archbishop of St. Paul-Minneapolis, Bernard Hebda, also called for peace, saying in a statement:
“We continue to be at a time in this country when we need to lower the temperature of rhetoric, stop fear-filled speculation and start seeing all people as created in the image and likeness of God. That is as true for our immigrant sisters and brothers as it is for our elected officials and those who are responsible for enforcing our laws.”