Noem says woman shot by ICE tried to ram agent with vehicle, followed and impeded officers earlier

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the woman who was shot and killed by an ICE agent on Wednesday in Minneapolis attempted to ram agents with her vehicle after "stalking and impeding" their work throughout the day. 

“This appears as an attempt to kill or to cause bodily harm to agents, an act of domestic terrorism,” Noem said at a press conference on Wednesday evening. The ICE agent responded by firing "defensive shots," she said. 

That  agent “used his training to save his own life and that of his colleagues,” Noem said. According to the secretary, the agent was taken to a hospital for treatment after being hit by the vehicle and has been released. 

Noem also provided further details about what her agency knows about how the shooting incident unfolded Wednesday morning, which she said took place at 10:25 AM CT. She said that while ICE agents were conducting immigration enforcement operations in Minneappolis when one vehicle became “stuck and ensnared in the snow." 

As officers attempted to push the vehicle out of the snow, a “mob of agitators that were harassing them all day” attempted to block them and impede their efforts. One vehicle, she said, was being driven by the woman who was later shot. Noem accused the woman of "stalking and impeding" agents throughout the day. 

After ICE agents ordered her to exit her vehicle, Noem says the woman proceeded to “weaponize her vehicle” in an attempt to run over the officer. 

Minneapolis Mayer Jacob Frey disputed Noem's assessment that the shooting was clearly self-defense.