Witness says federal agent fatally shot driver on Portland Avenue in Minneapolis

A resident of south Minneapolis said a federal agent fatally shot a woman after officers approached her vehicle on Portland Avenue, leaving neighbours to confront the scene of the killing.

Connor Janeksela, 30, said he heard horns and whistles residents had been using to alert others to the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. He said he saw what looked like a convoy of federal vehicles and a woman driving a Honda Pilot in front of them. "One of the ICE agents tried to rip her door open," he said, and "another one got in front of the vehicle and then shouted 'stop,' before firing three times within a second of saying 'stop.'" He said the car then accelerated and crashed into a parked vehicle.

Janeksela said he later saw a bullet hole in the driver’s side windshield and took grainy photos that showed a person slumped over in the car and what appeared to be blood on the deployed airbag. "What was undebatable was the death of the driver," the account noted.

Homeland security officials and President Trump said the agent had fired in self‑defense, while city and state officials, including Mayor Jacob Frey and Gov. Tim Walz, challenged that characterization and said federal officials were causing chaos. Residents, Janeksela said, were left with "a big sense of helplessness and hopelessness."

Key Topics

Politics, Ice, Minneapolis, Portland Avenue, Connor Janeksela, Honda Pilot