Minneapolis Public Schools announced it has canceled school for Thursday and Friday in the wake of a shooting that involved an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent and a 37-year-old woman.
On Wednesday morning, Renee Nicole Good died after a confrontation with ICE that took place in Minneapolis. At the time of the incident, a large-scale surge of federal officers was conducting new immigration enforcement efforts in Minnesota.
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Good “weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them—an act of domestic terrorism. An ICE officer, fearing for his life, the lives of his fellow law enforcement and the safety of the public, fired defensive shots.”
Both President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance have expressed their support for the ICE officer. However, Democrats have strongly rejected the federal government’s explanation of the incident.
Shortly after the shooting, protesters took to the streets of Minneapolis to demand that ICE cease its operations and leave the state. Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and many other Democrats have also demanded that ICE leave the state.
On Wednesday, Walz placed the Minnesota National Guard on alert as the protests grew. Both Walz and Frey have urged protesters to demonstrate peacefully in order to avoid a situation that provokes a federal response.
On Wednesday night, thousands attended a vigil at the scene of the shooting. As of Thursday morning, protesters had gathered outside the Whipple federal building in Minneapolis to protest against ICE.
As these anti-ICE protests have begun, Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) decided to cancel all classes and programing for the next two days.
In a Wednesday statement, MPS said “out of an abundance of caution, there will be no school on Thursday, Jan. 8 and Friday, Jan. 9 due to safety concerns related to today’s incidents around the city.”
“All MPS-sponsored programs, activities, athletics and Community Education classes, including adult education, will be canceled,” added the school district.
This morning, MPS put out another statement which said the district “is aware of an incident that happened after school yesterday outside of Roosevelt High School. This incident involved federal law enforcement agents and is currently under investigation.”
“We are working with our partners including the City of Minneapolis and others to support the individuals directly impacted,” the statement said. “[MPS] is committed to maintaining a safe and welcoming learning environment for all of our students. All MPS schools are closed today, Jan. 8 and tomorrow, Jan. 9 out of an abundance of caution.”
Alpha News contacted DHS and ICE regarding the Roosevelt High School incident but did not immediately hear back. Additionally, Alpha News asked MPS if the school closure was connected to the incident at Roosevelt High School. However, MPS did not immediately respond to a media inquiry.
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
