Cable news networks sprung into action on Wednesday to cover the breaking news of a woman killed by a federal immigration agent in Minneapolis, rushing correspondents to the scene and bringing on former government officials and legal analysts to offer commentary.

The three main cable networks’ on-screen graphics framed the incident slightly differently. Fox News referred to it as a “Deadly ICE-involved Shooting”, while CNN said more plainly: “ICE Officer Kills Woman in Minneapolis.”

The progressive network MS NOW – formerly MSNBC – also characterized the incident in part as “Agent Kills Woman” in an on-screen graphic.

Both CNN and Fox News brought on former officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide analysis based on their government experience, though their conclusions differed.

John Sandweg, who served as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during the Obama administration, questioned whether the federal agents had been properly trained and vetted.

“My immediate concern is this: to what extent has this rushing of hiring of people – this shortcutting on our training – to what extent might that have informed what happened here,” he said on CNN.

Chad Wolf, the former acting United States secretary of homeland security, appeared on Fox News and criticized Minneapolis’s mayor, Jacob Frey, for his comments during a press conference, when he told ICE to “get the fuck out of” the city.

“The mayor’s comments were probably some of the most unintelligible, unhinged comments I think I’ve heard in quite some time,” Wolf said, accusing Frey of having unfairly blamed the federal agents while laying “no blame at all on the individuals that are impeding law enforcement”.

“If you get in their way, and you don’t take their commands, well then that’s against the law,” Wolf added.

Paul Mauro, a Fox News contributor and former inspector in the New York City police department, also seemed to put blame on the protesters, saying many “really want confrontation” and document ICE actions using cellphone video “to get social media clicks”.

Fox News host Laura Ingraham said the incident is “the legacy of the normalization of violence and disrespect toward law enforcement that was legitimized and in many ways celebrated – mostly by the Democrats, far-left agitators, for years”.

But network personalities and guests were not unified in their perspective on the incident.

Jessica Tarlov, a prominent left-leaning voice on Fox News, shared a video of the shooting on X and called it “horrific”. “A full investigation is needed ASAP. Sure looks like ICE just killed that woman,” she said.

On MS NOW, former chief of the US Capitol police Tom Manger also criticized the remarks by Frey, the Minneapolis mayor. “When elected officials get out in front of an investigation and give you their conclusions, I don’t know how helpful that is,” he said.

While video spread quickly across social media, CNN said it would need to verify it before being able to show it. “I want to warn viewers that this video is hard to watch,” CNN anchor Jake Tapper said.

On MS NOW, Nicolle Wallace aired one of the most widely shared videos, cautioning viewers that it is “really disturbing” but said it was “really important” for people to see.