Minneapolis Schools Cancel Classes Citing Protests Over Fatal ICE Shooting

Minneapolis Public Schools canceled classes Thursday and Friday out of caution, citing protests sparked by a fatal shooting of a female driver by federal immigration agents.

“Out of an abundance of caution, there will be no school on Thursday, January 8, 2026 and Friday, January 9, 2026 due to safety concerns related to today’s incidents around the city,” Minneapolis Public Schools said in a statement.

The district will not move to e-learning, as that is only allowable for severe weather. School will resume on Monday, Jan. 12.

The incident occurred as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were conducting a raid when protesters surrounded the agents.

The driver, Renee Nicole Good, was fatally shot in the head after allegedly driving her vehicle at officers, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

DHS officials described her act as domestic terrorism, saying Good used her car as a weapon in an attempt to run over agents who were trying to push their vehicle out of the snow.

“Today, ICE officers in Minneapolis were conducting targeted operations when rioters began blocking ICE officers and one of these violent rioters weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them—an act of domestic terrorism,” Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement on Wednesday.

The school district’s decision comes as protests mount in the city after the 37-year-old woman’s death. Her killing after 9:30 a.m. was recorded on video by witnesses, and the shooting quickly drew a large crowd of angry protesters. By evening, hundreds were there for a vigil to mourn her death and urge the public to resist immigration enforcers.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that officers ordered Good to exit her car and stop obstructing them, but she refused.

“They were attempting to push out their vehicle, and a woman attacked them and those surrounding them and attempted to run them over and ram them with their vehicle,” Noem said in a statement.

She said the ICE agent who shot Good was hospitalized briefly and released. Noem noted the agent had been injured in a similar incident in June, when an anti-ICE protester dragged him with a car.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara offered preliminary information on the incident.

“The preliminary information that we have indicates that this woman was in her vehicle and was blocking the roadway on Portland Avenue, midway between 33rd Street and 34th Street in the city,” he said. “At some point, a federal law enforcement officer approached her on foot, and the vehicle began to drive off. At least two shots were fired. The vehicle then crashed on the side of the roadway.”

Mayor Jacob Frey has dismissed the self-defense claim.

“This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying,” Frey said. He called the narrative “garbage.”

Gov. Tim Walz called on residents to “remain calm” and issued a warning order to prepare the Minnesota National Guard for possible deployment. Walz, who has opposed federal immigration enforcement, described them as “governance designed to generate fear, headlines, and conflict” and “governing by reality TV.” He asked Noem to refrain from sending more immigration agents to the state.

The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association said it stands firmly behind officers and urged leaders to stop inflammatory language.

“The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association stands firmly behind law enforcement officers, accountability under the law, and the safety of every Minnesota community,” Interim Executive Director David Titus said. “Irresponsible, reckless rhetoric from political leaders attacking law enforcement has real and dangerous consequences for officers on the street. When officers are vilified, demonized, or used as political props, it fuels hostility, emboldens bad actors, and puts lives directly at risk. MPPOA calls on leaders to stop the inflammatory language and respect the legal and investigative process.”

The Border Patrol Union said Walz and Frey should be held accountable for anti-law enforcement statements that contribute to assaults on agents.

“These agitators who impede and interfere with law enforcement officers put themselves at risk of arrest and in some cases, injury or death, due their unlawful activity,” the organization said. “Law enforcement is not to blame! We stand with ICE and all of Law Enforcement!”

President Donald Trump weighed in on Truth Social.

“I have just viewed the clip of the event which took place in Minneapolis, Minnesota,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Wednesday. “It is a horrible thing to watch. The woman screaming was, obviously, a professional agitator, and the woman driving the car was very disorderly, obstructing and resisting, who then violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer, who seems to have shot her in self defense.”

He blamed the “radical left” for escalating tensions.

The shooting took place amid a major DHS operation, with 2,000 additional agents deployed to Minneapolis, resulting in hundreds of arrests for crimes including fraud, murder, and rape.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report