Minneapolis ICE shooting: Vice President JD Vance defends fatal shots as self defence

Vice President JD Vance on Thursday combatively defended an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent’s fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman a day earlier, declaring that the woman had intentionally sought to ram the officer and that he acted in self-defence by opening fire on her SUV.

“I can believe that her death is a tragedy, while also recognising that it’s a tragedy of her own making and a tragedy of the far left,” the vice president told reporters Thursday, accusing what he called a “lunatic fringe” of marshalling a movement against law enforcement officers.

Mr Vance alleged that the woman, 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, had tried to “ram” the officer with her SUV. Video footage of the attack is less clear, showing that the ICE agent fired his weapon as he appeared to be moving to the side of the vehicle’s path. Another video from another angle appeared to show the SUV grazing the officer after the first discharge.

In an interview Wednesday with the New York Times, US President Donald Trump appeared to moderate his initial assertion that Good had tried to run over the agent after being pressed by reporters.

But Mr Vance’s appearance in the White House briefing room echoed assertions made by others in the Trump administration in the shooting’s immediate aftermath, when officials, including Trump, moved swiftly to defend the ICE agent, criticise Good and accuse the left of fostering an environment dangerous to law enforcement officials.

Mr Vance announced a new assistant attorney general position that will be run out of the White House and “get tougher at the people who are defrauding the United States by inciting violence against our law enforcement officers.”

Good was a poet and mother of three, according to online records and family members. She was a U.S. citizen, according to a post on social media by Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minnesota).

Mr Vance on Thursday said the ICE agent who fired the fatal shots, whose name has not yet been released by authorities, had previously been attacked and dragged by a driver, echoing statements made by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem. He also said the agent had been hit twice by motor vehicles in the past six months.

“So you think maybe he’s a little bit sensitive about somebody ramming him with an automobile,” Mr Vance said.

He said the Department of Homeland Security is continuing to operate in Minnesota to crack down on immigration and go “door to door” to investigate fraud.

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