An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent who fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis this week was nearly killed in a similar vehicle incident just six months ago.
Federal sources and court records identified the agent as Jonathan Ross, a 10-year veteran of the agency.
On Wednesday, Ross shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Good while she was in the driver’s seat of her car during a targeted enforcement operation.
This fatal encounter occurred only months after Ross was seriously injured during a different arrest in Bloomington, Minnesota.
In that June incident, Ross was dragged approximately 300 feet by a fleeing suspect, according to the Star Tribune.
Ross had reached into a vehicle to arrest a suspect when the driver accelerated, weaving back and forth to shake the agent off.
The force of that incident left Ross with 33 total stitches in his arm and hand.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended the agent’s actions in the recent shooting, noting he “feared for his life.”
Noem emphasized that Ross is an expert marksman who followed his training during the confrontation with Good.
Vice President JD Vance also supported the agent on Thursday, pointing to the trauma of the previous dragging incident.
“That very ICE officer nearly had his life ended six months ago,” Vance said during a White House press briefing.
Vance suggested the previous assault made the officer naturally sensitive to the threat of being rammed by a vehicle.
However, use-of-force experts interviewed by the Star Tribune have questioned the decision to fire at a moving car.
Some experts noted that most police departments discourage shooting at vehicles because it rarely stops the car and can endanger bystanders.
ICE has declined to officially confirm the agent’s name, though he is listed as a witness in the public court records from the June assault.
The shooting remains under federal investigation as tensions rise over the administration’s intensified immigration enforcement.
