ESPN host Stephen A. Smith said the fatal shooting of a woman by a federal immigration agent in Minnesota was “completely justified” from a legal standpoint, while also questioning whether lethal force was necessary under the circumstances, as reported by Fox News.

Smith addressed the incident during an episode of his podcast following Wednesday’s shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minnesota.

Good was shot and killed during an encounter with federal officers who were conducting immigration enforcement operations in the Twin Cities area.

If it wasn’t for the quick reactions and analyses of citizen journalists on X to correctly identify all aspects of the ICE shooting in Minneapolis, which was entirely justified, you’d be looking at George Floyd 2.0. Here is a slowed down video. pic.twitter.com/Hpy04lrLWL

— Ian Miles Cheong (@ianmiles) January 7, 2026

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“I saw the video on numerous occasions, and seeing what transpired from a lawful perspective as it pertains to a law enforcement official, don’t expect him to be prosecuted. He was completely justified,” Smith said.

Smith added that while he believes the shooting was legally justified, he questioned the tactical decision-making involved.

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“From a humanitarian perspective, however, why did you have to do that? If you could move out the way, that means you could have shot the tires. That means you could have got a few feet away after you shot the tires. And if you were unsuccessful in doing that, you could have got her down the road,” Smith said.

“You didn’t have to do that. She wasn’t driving down the road coming at you 90 miles an hour. She was parked in the middle of the street, and rather than get out the car, she wrongfully tried to drive off and wrongfully disregarded a law enforcement official, which is exactly what ICE is, and, as a result, lost her life because of it.”

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According to federal officials, Good was operating a vehicle at the time of the incident. Agents ordered her to exit the vehicle, but she refused and attempted to flee.

Kristi Noem, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said Good attempted to use the vehicle as a weapon.

“It was an act of domestic terrorism,” Noem said. “An officer of ours acted quickly and defensively, shot to protect himself and the people around him.”

Federal authorities said Good attempted to run over ICE agents who were part of a 2,000-member federal operation deployed to the Twin Cities to arrest and deport illegal immigrant criminals.

The operation was part of a broader enforcement surge focused on public safety threats.

Members of the Minneapolis City Council confirmed Good’s identity in a joint statement released Wednesday. The council described her as “a member of our community” and called on ICE to leave the city.

The shooting comes amid a significant increase in reported assaults against federal immigration officers.

The Department of Homeland Security reported in December that assaults and violent attacks against ICE officers have risen more than 1,150% compared to the prior year.

According to DHS data, there were 238 assaults on ICE officers between Jan. 21, 2025, and Nov. 21, 2025. That figure is up from 19 assaults during the same time period in 2024.

The incident remains under federal review, with authorities maintaining that the agent acted in self-defense during the encounter.