Mom of Keith Porter, LA man fatally shot by ICE, speaks out following Minneapolis shooting
LOS ANGELES - As protests continue over the killing of a woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis, the mother of a man who was fatally shot by an off-duty ICE agent in Northridge on New Year's Eve is calling for justice.
What led to Northridge ICE shooting?
Keith Porter Jr., 43, was fatally shot shortly after 10:30 p.m. Dec. 31 by an off-duty ICE agent at an apartment complex in Northridge.
The Los Angeles Police Department said Porter was firing celebratory shots into the air with an AR-15-style rifle. The off-duty agent, who also lives in the apartment, heard the gunfire and confronted Porter. It's unclear what happened next and what led to the agent opening fire.
The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement saying the agent "bravely responded to an active shooter situation" and "exchanged gunfire with" Porter.
Porter died at the scene.
Who is Keith Porter?
Family members and community leaders say Porter, a father of two, was not a threat and are calling for an independent investigation into the shooting.
"He was a great Black man. He was a girl dad," said Porter’s cousin, Jsane Tyler.
During Friday's Los Angeles City Council meeting, Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez introduced Porter's mother, Franceola Armstrong, who described her son as a man with a wonderful soul and big heart.
RELATED: Keith Porter: Vigil held for Los Angeles dad shot by ICE officer in Northridge
Keith Porter: LA dad shot by off-duty ICE agent
A candlelight vigil was held in Northridge to honor 43-year-old Keith Porter, who was shot to death by an off-duty ICE officer after celebratory gunfire on New Year’s Eve.
What they're saying:
"He didn't deserve this," Armstrong said. "He was on his way back. He didn't even get to pop the champagne. He didn't get to say goodbye. I just want to touch my baby one last time, kiss his face and hold him. I don't have him. His life was snatched from us. Lord, please, I just wish you could get justice for my child."
Joseph Williams of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles also spoke to the council and condemned Porter's shooting and the lack of any criminal action against the ICE agent.
"We know that in this city, law enforcement shootings by LAPD have increased by, what, 70% last year, and there has been very little of any accountability in any of those cases," Williams said. "The fact that Keith Porter's murderer was not arrested and to give up his service weapon on that very night is unacceptable."
What's next:
Porter's relatives are expected to join civil rights leaders on Saturday in Carson Park for a candlelight vigil.
Minneapolis ICE shooting
Discussion of Porter's death was renewed following Wednesday morning's fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good, 37, in Minneapolis by an ICE agent who fired into her moving SUV during an immigration operation.
Multiple protests have been held in downtown Los Angeles over the past two days in response to Good's shooting in Minneapolis.
Fatal ICE shooting sparks more protests
Protests broke out overnight nationwide after two ICE-related shootings.
Federal officials said an ICE agent fatally shot Good in self-defense. They accuse her of trying to use her vehicle to run over law enforcement officers after interfering with an immigration-enforcement operation. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called Good's actions an "act of domestic terrorism" and part of an escalating trend of assaults and attempted attacks on immigration agents nationwide. She said an ICE agent was injured by Good's vehicle and treated at a hospital.
President Donald Trump also defended the actions of the agent who opened fire.
RELATED: Minneapolis ICE shooting: New video shows ICE agent's angle
The other side:
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called federal officials' narrative that the shooting was self-defense "bullshit" and said ICE need to get the "f***" out of Minneapolis.
"The narrative the administration was pushing in the immediacy following this shooting was garbage and false and B.S. It was. I stand by every one of those. This notion of inflammatory comments, I mean come on, guys… I dropped an F-bomb. They killed somebody. Which one of those is more inflammatory? I'm going with the killing somebody."
RELATED: Minneapolis Mayor Frey: ‘I dropped an F-bomb, they killed somebody’
Frey and Minneapolis leaders are demanding transparency in the investigation into the shooting.
The Source: Information on the Northridge shooting came from the Los Angeles Police Department and DHS. Information on Porter's mother speaking came from City News Service, which cited Friday's LA City Council Meeting. Information on the Minneapolis ICE shooting came from FOX 9.