Regarding the Minneapolis shooting, United States President Donald Trump claimed that 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, in the car, ran the ICE officer over, and he seems to have shot her in self-defence. However, the DW Fact Check analysed the 13-second clip shared by Trump and revealed his claim as false.
What really happened?
A viral video from Minneapolis circulated on social media showing an officer approaching a red SUV stopped in the middle of the road. It is seen that the officer is demanding that the driver open the door, grabbing the handle. The incident took place on January 7. The SUV begins to pull forward, and an ICE officer standing in front of it pulls the trigger and fires at least two shots, jumping back as the vehicle moves towards him.
However, it is not clear whether the vehicle makes contact with the officer.
While sharing the video, Trump said that the woman driving the car was very disorderly, obstructing and resisting, and then violently, willfully and viciously ran over the ICE officer, who seems to have shot her in self-defence. Based on the attached clip, it is hard to believe he is alive."
Looking at the clip closely, initially posted in slow motion, one may indeed get the impression at the five-second timestamp that the SUV has run the officer over. However, it is clear that by the eight-second mark, at the latest, the aforementioned ICE officer is standing upright and looking after the vehicle as it drives away. While watching the video in speed, it becomes clear that the SUV is moving and the ICE officer jumps back from it and is not run over.
Meanwhile, tensions remained high in Minneapolis on Friday as protesters took to the streets, raising slogans against federal agents after the shooting emerged. At least two were wounded in the recent clashes.
The shooting took place during President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration.
The Department of Homeland Security defended the ICE officer and said, "Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired a defensive shot." Though the president and the federal agencies came in support of the shooter, the city of Minneapolis contradicted the claim and stood with Good.
The city's Democrat mayor, Jacob Frey, condemned the ICE agents' actions, and, having viewed the videos himself, categorically rejected the characterisation of the killing as self-defence. The mayor accused the federal agencies of escalating the situation. The incident is currently under investigation.