The incident
This morning shortly before 10 am at East 34th Street and Portland Ave So. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were conducting enforcement activity. In what has become almost customary, protestors converged on the scene and began obstructing agents.
Video from at least two angles has been posted on social media. The videos show a Maroon Honda Pilot stopped perpendicularly in front of an ICE vehicle as agents attempted to drive south on Portland Ave. Several agents got out of vehicles and began approaching the Honda. One agent can be heard ordering the driver out while he attempted to open the driver door. Another agent can be seen approaching the front of the Honda. The Honda’s driver, later determined to be a 37-year-old woman, then put the Honda in reverse for a few feet before rapidly driving forward into the agent approaching from the front. The front tires can be seen spinning as she accelerated toward the agent. The agent can be seen bracing himself against the driver’s side front end of the Honda as it came forward. The agent then appeared to fire multiple shots into the car as it drove into him, and as he successfully pushed himself to his right to avoid being run over. The Honda sped south a short distance before crashing into a utility pole and another car. The 37-year-old driver was reportedly struck in the head and has died.
Here is a zoomed in slowed down version. pic.twitter.com/tLIgGg0WMg
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 7, 2026
ICE statement
At 11:45 am the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) put out a statement describing the action by the agent as firing “defensive shots.” The release also referenced the 1300% increase in assaults against agents in 2025.
Local reaction
Chief O’Hara also stated that he has “feared” something like this would occur during ICE enforcement. To be clear, one of the reasons this shooting took place is that protestors have been encouraged by local officials to exercise their rights to response and demonstrate. However, those demonstrations have become increasingly hostile, and demonstrators have begun routinely obstructing agents. Few if any local leaders have made any statements condemning that obstruction, while they continue to blame ICE for the chaos created by the protestors.
Minneapolis Mayor Frey spoke at a press conference and made outrageous statements – statements that are completely irresponsible for a leader to make during the early stage of an investigation of this importance.
“They are already trying to spin this as an action of self-defense. Having seen the video myself, I want to tell everybody directly, that is bullshit.”
Frey went on to say that he had a message for ICE,
“Get the f**k out of Minneapolis.”
Minneapolis City Council person Jason Chavez called for the ICE agent to be “arrested immediately.”
US Representative Ilhan Omar stated,
“ICE must stop terrorizing our communities and leave our city.”
The Investigation
Minneapolis police officers and Hennepin County Sheriff’s deputies responded to assist in securing the scene. The Minnesota BCA and the FBI are conducting the investigation of the shooting according to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty has weighed in to say that her office intends to ensure a local investigation is conducted.
While Moriarty suggests that a local investigation will occur, and it might, the practice and policy of officer involved shootings involving a federal agent are that the FBI and Justice Department will conduct the official investigation and determination of whether the shooting was justified under the law. Federal Statute 28 USC 1442 also ensures that a shooting involving a federal agent is the jurisdiction of the federal government.
