(NewsNation) — Minnesota Republican State Rep. Steve Gander described the fatal shooting of a 37-year-old woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officer in Minneapolis as “not a good moment” in Minnesota’s history.
Details of what led to the fatal shooting are being debated by federal and Minneapolis city officials. The woman has been identified as Renee Nicole Good.
“Our hearts are heavy for everyone involved in this,” Gander told NewsNation.
“It’s not a good moment in Minnesota history. It’s not a good moment in our nation’s history. And yet, before we rush to judgment, before we try to tie that up with the string, there’s just so much more to learn and so much more to observe.”
Speaking to reporters Wednesday night, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem described the event as “preventable” and a “tragedy,” before stating the officer acted in self-defense.
“This appears as an attempt to kill or cause bodily harm to agents, an act of domestic terrorism. The ICE officer, fearing for his life, and the other officers around him and the safety of the public, fired defensive shots.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, dismissed the federal agency’s explanation in a news conference held shortly after the woman’s death was announced. He said that DHS officials are trying to “spin” the incident as an act of self-defense.
“I want to tell you …that is bull—-,” Frey said, calling it a”garbage narrative … it has no truth.”
In contrast, DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said the woman attempted to run over federal agents with her vehicle before she was shot.
“An ICE officer, fearing for his life, the lives of his fellow law enforcement and the safety of the public, fired defensive shots,” McLaughlin said. “He used his training and saved his own life and that of his fellow officers.”