State investigators say they withdrew after federal officials ended shared access to evidence in a fatal shooting involving an immigration agent during Minneapolis protests.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Federal authorities have taken full control of the investigation into a fatal shooting involving an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis, prompting Minnesota law enforcement officials to withdraw after losing access to key case materials, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said Thursday.
The Department of Justice initially sought a joint investigation with the BCA but later reversed course and informed state officials that the inquiry would be led exclusively by the FBI, BCA Superintendent Drew Evans said in a public statement. Evans said the shift left Minnesota investigators without sufficient access to evidence, witnesses and information required under state standards.
“Without complete access to the evidence, witnesses and information collected, we cannot meet the investigative standards that Minnesota law and the public demands,” Evans said. “As a result, the BCA has reluctantly withdrawn from the investigation.”
The shooting occurred Wednesday during protests in Minneapolis and involved a federal immigration agent and 37-year-old Renee Good, who was killed at the scene. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the agent fired after Good allegedly moved her vehicle toward him. DHS said the agent acted in self-defense.
“An ICE officer, fearing for his life, the lives of his fellow law enforcement and the safety of the public, fired defensive shots,” the department said shortly after the incident. “He used his training and saved his own life and that of his fellow officers.”
Video from the scene shows multiple federal agents approaching Good’s vehicle as it sat in the roadway. She was instructed to exit the car but instead moved the vehicle backward and then forward toward one of the agents, after which the agent fired multiple shots.
The FBI’s Minneapolis field office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota did not respond to requests for comment.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said Wednesday that she wanted the investigation handled locally, arguing that state oversight was necessary to ensure transparency and independent review. Evans said Thursday that while the BCA has stepped back, state officials expect the FBI to complete a thorough investigation and share its findings with appropriate prosecutorial authorities at both the state and federal levels.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz sharply criticized the federal response, accusing DHS of mischaracterizing the incident. In a social media post, Walz called the department a “propaganda machine” and said the state would pursue its own review to “ensure accountability and justice.”
The transfer of full investigative authority to federal officials has intensified scrutiny of how shootings involving federal agents are reviewed, particularly when they occur amid civil unrest and involve overlapping state and federal jurisdiction.
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