MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis Public Schools canceled classes Thursday and Friday due to safety concerns related to the shooting death of a woman by a federal agent.
Renee Good, 37, was killed when an ICE agent shot into her vehicle multiple times during an encounter Wednesday morning. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem said the agent acted in self-defense after Good tried to “weaponize her vehicle” to run over the agent. State and local officials have widely disputed claims the shooting, captured on video, was done in self-defense. Eyewitnesses reported that agents gave conflicting instructions to Good, with one telling her to drive away and another ordering her out of her vehicle.
“Out of an abundance of caution, there will be no school on Thursday, Jan. 8 and Friday, Jan. 9 due to safety concerns related to today’s incidents around the city,” the district said on its website. “All MPS-sponsored programs, activities, athletics and Community Education classes, including adult education, will be canceled. The district will not move to e-learning because that is only allowable for severe weather.”
ICE Detains 2 Employees Outside Minneapolis High School
Green Central Elementary School, located just a few blocks away from the ICE shooting, went into lockdown after the incident. The same day, border patrol agents handcuffed two staff members during dismissal at MPS’ Roosevelt High School, MPR reports. A school official who spoke to MPR on condition of anonymity said armed officers arrived at the school in several SUVs and broke out the window of a vehicle.
“The guy, I’m telling him like, ‘Please step off the school grounds,’ and this dude comes up and bumps into me and then tells me that I pushed him, and he’s trying to push me, and he knocked me down,” the school official said. “They don’t care. They’re just animals. I’ve never seen people behave like this.”
RELATED: High School Principals Share How Immigration Enforcement Impacts Students
Homeland Security said border patrol agents were engaging in a five-mile vehicle pursuit as part of “immigration enforcement operations” when it ended in the school zone, according to KSTP. DHS alleges that a man who identified himself as a teacher assaulted a border patrol agent while the suspect was being removed from the vehicle.
Agents reportedly used pepper spray on bystanders, and many sought shelter in the school library. A video shared with MPR shows witness Kate Winkel, who lives in the neighborhood surrounding the school, being pushed to the ground by a Border Patrol official after telling her to get out of the street.
“I think school property should be off-limits. I think our kids need to feel safe at school,” Winkel said. “The federal government doesn’t need to attack schools.”
Homeland Security Deploys 2,000 Agents to Minnesota
Both incidents happened the day after the DHS announced on X that “the largest DHS operation ever is happening right now in Minnesota.” The department deployed 2,000 federal agents and officers to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area for an immigration enforcement operation tied in part to allegations of fraud involving Somali residents.
Immigrant rights groups and elected officials in the Twin Cities reported a sharp increase Tuesday in sightings of federal agents, ABC reports. Sources told the AP that agents were going door-to-door investigating allegations of fraud, human smuggling, and unlawful employment practices.
