‘A state of terror and fear’: Witness shares account of fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis
When Betsy, a lifelong Minnesota resident, went for a walk Wednesday morning, she said she never expected to witness a federal agent shooting a woman in her own neighborhood.
“I realized my body was in shock,” Betsy, who asked that her last name not be published, told ABC News. “I felt really scared by what was happening and I was in a kind of state of terror and fear.”
A woman later identified as 37-year-old Minneapolis resident Renee Nicole Good was shot and killed Wednesday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. agent during an operation in the city.
Law enforcement attempts to enter a vehicle before an ICE officer fatally shot the driver during an incident in Minneapolis on January 7, 2026.
Obtained by ABC News
According to Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, Good was allegedly “trying to run over our law enforcement officers” with his car when he was fatally shot by an ICE officer.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz have disputed the federal government’s claims about what led up to the shooting, saying video of the incident shows the officer’s actions were not self-defense.
Betsy said that before the incident, she heard whistles and horns in her Powderhorn neighborhood in Minneapolis and followed the sounds to see what was happening.
After heading west on East 34th Street and turning right onto Portland Avenue, he said he saw “a group of vehicles in the middle of the street, including a brown SUV.”
Several neighbors whistled in protest against a group of federal agents on the street, he explained, adding that one agent yelled at the driver of the truck through her car window.
“It looked to me like she was trying to adjust her car to face more south,” Betsy said. “And then it became clear at one point that she began to accelerate, trying to get her vehicle out of the group of southbound cars on Portland Avenue.”
“At the time she started accelerating, one of the officers was yelling through the window of his car,” he continued, saying he saw the officer fire multiple shots.
Law enforcement officers are seen after an ICE officer shot and killed the driver of a vehicle during an incident in Minneapolis on January 7, 2026.
Obtained by ABC News
Immediately after the shooting, the truck moved forward approximately 10 feet, according to Betsy, at which point it became clear that the driver “lost control of the car.”
“I could see that his head was laying on the driver’s side headrest and there was a lot of blood,” Betsy said. “His car slowly collided with a parked car on the east side of Portland Avenue, just a few feet in front of me.”
Minneapolis police said preliminary information indicates Good was in his car and blocking the road before the shooting.
“At some point, a federal agent approached her on foot and the vehicle began to drive away,” police said. “At least two shots were fired…the vehicle crashed on the side of the road.”
“There is nothing to indicate that this woman was the subject of any police investigation or activity,” police added.
Betsy stated that officers were standing next to and behind the truck near the driver’s side window before and at the time the shots were fired, but there were no officers in front of the vehicle at the time.
The Department of Homeland Security has said there was an agent in front of the vehicle.
Besty said that in the moments following the shooting, a neighbor ran across the street to the driver’s side of the truck and opened the door to check on the driver.
After the neighbor told passersby to call 911, Betsy said she tried to do so but couldn’t get through.
Minneapolis police officers secure the area as community members gather near the scene where a U.S. immigration agent shot a driver, according to local and federal officials, in Minneapolis on Jan. 7, 2026.
Tim Evans/Reuters
At one point, another neighbor approached the van and identified himself as a doctor, Betsy said, noting that the man urged federal agents to help stop the bleeding.
Witnessing the shooting had an acute effect on Betsy, she said, who described how her diverse community had been on edge recently following a reported increase in immigration enforcement activity in Minneapolis.
“I can tell my nervous system is still a little bit in shock,” he said. “I feel a lot of pain, I feel a lot of anger, and I feel tremendously proud of where I come from and the community I’m a part of, and I want to do everything I can to help make it healthy and safe.”
After the shooting, a large crowd gathered in the area, which is less than a mile from where George Floyd was killed in May 2020.
Gov. Walz said he issued a “warning order” to prepare the Minnesota National Guard, saying there are soldiers in training and prepared to deploy “if necessary,” while urging “peaceful resistance.”
