Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey adamantly rejected the Trump administration's assertion that the agent fired in self-defence, saying video of the shooting directly contradicted the government's "garbage narrative".
"They're already trying to spin this as an action of self-defence," a visibly angry Frey said at a news conference on Wednesday.
"Having seen the video myself, I want to tell everybody directly - that is bullshit."
Frey blamed federal immigration agents for sowing chaos in the city, telling ICE: "Get the f*** out of Minneapolis."
But he also urged residents to remain calm, as Democratic leaders in Minnesota, Washington and elsewhere called the ICE operation an unnecessary provocation that resulted in tragedy.
The Minnesota City Council identified the dead woman as Renee Nicole Good, 37, and said she was "out caring for her neighbours this morning and her life was taken today at the hands of the federal government".
The shooting quickly drew a large crowd of angry protesters, and by evening, hundreds were there for a vigil to mourn her death.
Opponents of Trump called for protests in several American cities, raising the risk that the killing could become a national flashpoint over his deployment of federal officers to Democratic-led cities and states.
Kristi Noem, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, told reporters that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were responding to a vehicle stuck in the snow when they were harassed by a "mob of agitators".
One of the protesters, later identified as Good, followed agents all day, Noem said.
Good blocked their vehicle and refused orders to move out of the way, she said.
"She then proceeded to weaponise her vehicle, and she attempted to run a law enforcement officer over," Noem said, adding the car struck the officer.
Videos of the shooting posted on social media and verified by Reuters raised doubts about the government's account.
They show an officer approaching an SUV stopped across the middle of the road, demanding the driver open the door and grabbing the handle.
The SUV begins to pull forward, steering to the right in an apparent effort to drive away from the officers, and a different ICE officer standing in front of the vehicle fires at least two shots into the vehicle, jumping back as the vehicle moves towards him.
It is not clear if the vehicle makes contact with the officer.
The SUV then speeds into two parked cars and crashes to a stop.
Noem said the officer was experienced and "followed his training".
Good's mother told the Minnesota Star Tribune that her daughter was "extremely compassionate", and she said Good was not the type of person to confront ICE agents.
Police chief Brian O'Hara said Good, who was married with a six-year-old daughter, was not a target of immigration operations.
The Department of Homeland Security has said it is conducting the "largest DHS operation ever" in Minnesota to arrest "fraudsters, murderers, rapists, and gang members".
The surge follows allegations of wide-scale welfare fraud involving Somali immigrants.
Democratic Governor Tim Walz, who ran for US vice-president in the 2024 election won by Trump, also rejected the federal government's account and said "what we are seeing is the consequences of governance designed to generate fear, headlines and conflict".
In a social media post, Trump said the video showed the woman "violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer, who seems to have shot her in self defense".
with AP
