Texas leaders react to fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis

Texas lawmakers are lighting up social media with opinions about the fatal shooting of a woman in a car in Minneapolis by an ICE officer on Wednesday morning. 

Reports from officers differ drastically from those of uninvolved eyewitnesses — the official DHS stance is self-defense against a "domestic terrorist," while bystanders tell a story of an innocent woman trying to leave peacefully. 

The political internet arena Texas is divided along party lines. Republicans generally condemn Minnesota leaders' reactions to the shooting, while Democrats are calling for ICE to be investigated for the possible murder of a civilian by an anonymous officer. 

Texas Republicans react

Among the most vocal of the Texas GOP members after Wednesday's shooting, U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Houston) was quick to question Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey's dismay at the incident. Hunt posted the following to X, formerly Twitter:

"We’ve hit a breaking point in this country when an ICE officer is rammed by a lunatic in an SUV and the Mayor of Minneapolis responds not with condemnation, but by telling federal law enforcement to "get the f*ck out!"

Hunt, currently in the running for U.S. Senate, later reposted a Fox News video of Gov. Tim Walz' reaction. Hunt compared Walz to Jefferson Davis before posting a full statement later in the evening that reads, in part, as follows:

"The radical left isn’t turning the temperature down, they’re cranking it to 450 degrees. When leaders normalize this kind of rhetoric, the outcome isn’t hypothetical. It’s dangerous. It’s reckless. And it puts lives at risk. If violence follows, responsibility doesn’t belong to the officers enforcing the law, it belongs to the politicians who lit the fuse."

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz was more to the point with his criticism of Minnesota leaders, reposting a different video of Walz and referencing the recent fraud scandal within the state.

Walz in the video said Minnesota is "at war with the federal government." Cruz replied, "Is that why y'all stole $9 billion?"

Texas Democrats react

The other side:

State Rep. James Talarico (D-Austin), another candidate for the same U.S. Senate seat as Hunt, rang in from the other side of the aisle. 

"At our town hall last night, I called for a full investigation into ICE," Talarico said in his post on X. "Today, an ICE agent shot and killed a civilian. We should haul these masked men before Congress so the world can see their faces."

Former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, yet another Senate hopeful, also expressed his ire for the actions in Minneapolis. 

"As a civil rights attorney, I’m outraged by today’s ICE shooting in Minnesota that took a woman’s life," Allred said on X. "No family should lose a loved one this way. No community should live in this fear. ICE has become a rogue agency — operating recklessly, terrorizing communities, and now taking lives. To every community terrorized by these tactics: I see you. I stand with you. And I won’t stop fighting until you’re safe."

Minneapolis fatal ICE shooting

The backstory:

An ICE agent fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis on Wednesday morning.

Federal officials are claiming the agent acted in self-defense, but Minnesota leaders disagree. The shooting happened around 9:30 a.m. in the area of East 34th Street and Portland Avenue. The woman died at the hospital.

Witnesses told FOX Local that a woman got into a red vehicle and there was one ICE agent on either side of the vehicle trying to get in, and a third ICE agent came and tried to yank on the driver's side door. One of the agents on the driver's side door backed away, and then opened fire, shooting three times through the driver's side window, witnesses said. One witness said the vehicle wasn't moving toward the agents. However, federal officials said ICE officers were "conducting targeted operations" when "rioters" blocked officers. One of the "rioters weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them."

Officials said an ICE officer who was "fearing for his life" fired "defensive shots" to save himself and his officers, killing the woman.

A video of the shooting shows a red Honda Pilot blocking the roadway as an ICE squad approaches. When agents approach the vehicle, the Pilot attempts to drive away, moving towards an agent. When that happens, the agent fires three shots at the driver. Police say the driver was struck in the head. The agent appears to mostly avoid the vehicle as it speeds past and ends up crashing into a parked vehicle.