'She Behaved Horribly': Trump Defends ICE Officer Who Shot Dead Woman In Minneapolis

Last Updated:January 09, 2026, 06:55 IST

Donald Trump defended an ICE officer who fatally shot Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, saying that the woman was at fault.

US President Donald Trump (Photo: AP)

Donald Trump on Thursday defended a federal immigration officer who fatally shot a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis, telling New York Times reporters that the victim was responsible for the encounter and saying, “She behaved horribly."

The shooting occurred during a large-scale immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota, part of what the Department of Homeland Security has described as its largest crackdown to date.

Speaking in the Oval Office just hours after the incident, Trump blamed the victim, Renee Nicole Good, asserting that she had attempted to run over an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent.

“I want to see nobody get shot. I want to see nobody screaming and trying to run over policemen either," Trump said as New York Times reporters questioned him about the incident, which had already begun to spark protests in Minneapolis.

When pressed on how he reached the conclusion that the woman tried to run down an officer, Trump asked an aide to pull up video footage of the shooting on a laptop to support his claim.

“That was a vicious situation that took place," he said, referring to federal officials’ statements that Good attempted to use her vehicle as a weapon against ICE agents.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem echoed the president’s account, saying the woman had been “stalking" officers and describing the incident as an “act of domestic terrorism" against federal agents. Noem said the officer who fired the fatal shots “used his training to save his own life and that of his colleagues," and insisted that ICE and Border Patrol agents “won’t be going anywhere" despite demands from state and local leaders that federal officers leave Minnesota.

However, state and local officials sharply disputed those claims. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called the federal account “garbage" and said assertions that the shooting was an act of self-defence were “bullshit," after reviewing the available video footage himself.

Videos captured by bystanders and reviewed by the Associated Press show an ICE officer approaching a Honda Pilot stopped across the middle of the road, demanding that the driver open the door and grabbing the handle. As the SUV begins to move forward, a different ICE officer standing in front of the vehicle draws his weapon and fires at least two shots at close range, jumping back as the vehicle advances. It remains unclear from the footage whether the vehicle actually struck the officer.

When New York Times reporters pointed out inconsistencies in the federal narrative and noted that social media videos did not clearly show an officer being run over, Mr. Trump stood by his assessment. Asked whether firing into a vehicle in such circumstances was acceptable, he said, “She behaved horribly. And then she ran him over. She didn’t try to run him over —"

After reporters again said the videos were unclear, Mr. Trump insisted on replaying the footage. “I’ll play the tape for you right now," he said, as a slow-motion surveillance video played on the laptop. Reporters told him the angle did not appear to show an ICE officer being struck by the vehicle.

“Well," Mr. Trump replied. “I — the way I look at it …"

At the conclusion of the clip, the president acknowledged the disturbing nature of the incident. “It’s a terrible scene," he said. “I think it’s horrible to watch. No, I hate to see it."

The killing of Ms. Good, a mother of three, has left Minneapolis on edge. Protests erupted outside a federal building serving as a base for the enforcement operation, with demonstrators chanting “No More ICE" and other slogans as officers used pepper spray and tear gas to push them back. Similar protests were reported or expected in cities including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, and Washington, DC.

Minnesota authorities have demanded to be included in the investigation, saying public trust depends on state involvement. The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has withdrawn after being barred from participating, while federal officials say the FBI will conduct the investigation. Governor Tim Walz warned that it would be “very, very difficult for Minnesotans" to accept the findings of an investigation that excludes the state, particularly after what he described as “verifiably false" statements from senior federal officials.

News world 'She Behaved Horribly': Trump Defends ICE Officer Who Shot Dead Woman In Minneapolis

Read More