Cooper Lewis ‘26, Layout Director
On Jan. 7, 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was shot and killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis. A U.S. citizen and mother of three, Good was seen on video waving and yielding to passing ICE vehicles. As agents exited their vehicles and approached Good however, she attempted to flee. Gunshots were heard as an agent fired his weapon into the vehicle, striking Good in her face and killing her.
A nearby doctor attempted to aid Good as onlookers called 911, but reports indicate that agents did not allow him through, and Good died soon after. “Renee was one of the kindest people I’ve ever known. She was extremely compassionate,” her mother Donna Ganger said to the Minnesota Star Tribune. “She’s taken care of people all her life. She was loving, forgiving and affectionate.” According to her father, Good had a good life, but a hard life. Born in Colorado, she moved to Minnesota last year and lived in Twin Cities with her partner. She had two children, 15 and 16 years old, from her first marriage, and a six-year-old from her second. After her husband—a military veteren—died, she moved in with her parents in Kansas for a brief period before making the move to Minnesota. Good’s death hit her family especially hard, as Jan. 7 was also her older sister’s birthday.
Good was described as lovely, and a good Christian who loved to sing, by former neighbors in Kansas. “She was a neighbor who, you know, is not a terrorist. Not an extremist,” neighbor Joan Rose said to CNN. “She was just a mom who loved her kids, loved her spouse.” On social media, Good described herself as a poet, a writer, a wife, and a mom. On Instagram, she said she was “experiencing Minneapolis” with a pride flag in her bio. Her Pinterest account showed photos of Good smiling with a young child kissing her cheek, as well as various saved posts of tattoos, hairstyles, and home decorating. Good was a devoted Christian, who took frequent mission trips to Northern Ireland when she was younger. She loved to sing and performed in her high school’s chorus before studying vocal performance in college.
Good attended Old Dominion University in Virginia, graduating in 2020 with an English degree. Posts from the time indicate she was a good student, going as far as to win awards for her writing. She also hosted a small podcast with her late second husband, Tim Macklin. “May Renee’s life be a reminder of what unites us: freedom, love, and peace. My hope is for compassion, healing, and reflection at a time that is becoming one of the darkest and most uncertain periods in our nation’s history,” Old Dominion President Brian O. Hemphill said.
Hours after the shooting, neighbors gathered at a vigil on the site of the shooting, remembering and chanting Good’s name. The group surrounded a makeshift shrine of flowers and candles and expressed outrage at her killing. “Say it once. Say it twice. We will not put up with ICE,” the group chanted. Some were seen carrying signs that read: “Killer ICE off our streets.” Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, urged residents to remain calm in the wake of the chaos. Frey also addressed ICE directly in a speech, saying they had no right and no place in their city, and to “get the F—- out.” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz also expressed condolences to Good’s family, and promised his administration will stop at nothing to seek accountability and justice.
In a statement from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, she said the ICE agent had “feared for his life” after Good attempted to “use her vehicle as a weapon.” According to her, the agent fired in self defense. This statement has sparked debate and controversy from anyone who has seen the video of the shooting. In it, the agent is seen off to the side of the vehicle, supposedly out of harm’s way, and firing into the car. A second video was released shortly thereafter recorded by Ross himself. In it, he is seen circling the car and filming the license plate, before reaching the front driver’s side window. At that point, Good was heard being told to drive away, and Ross fired into the car as a result. As the sound of crashing occurs, Ross can be heard muttering to himself, “F—ing B——”. GoFundMe’s for both Good and Ross were opened, with Good’s family raising over a million dollars, and Ross’ nearly 100 thousand.
The incident occured at 10:25 a.m. CT time, as ICE officials were conducting operations in the city. One of their vehicles became stuck in the snow, and protesters in vehicles who “had been harassing and stalking them all day” attempted to interfere and block the vehicle. One of the protesters was Good, who, after being told to exit her vehicle by agents, attempted to drive off. “I do believe that this officer used his training in this situation and will let the FBI continue the investigation to get it resolved,” Noem said. President Trump also responded to the shooting online. Supporting Noem’s claims, saying that the ICE agent was “acting in self defense, and it is hard to believe [the agent] is alive.” He also claimed the agent was in the hospital recovering from his injuries, despite not being struck by the vehicle whatsoever.
Regardless of one’s political beliefs, regardless of one’s opinions on ICE, and regardless of one’s opinions on Donald Trump and his administration, a young woman was shot and killed. A six-year-old child now has to grow up with no mother. A family now has to grieve a daughter, and a woman had to receive news of her sister’s gruesome, untimely death on her birthday. Despite what many are saying, ICE is not law enforcement. They do not share the same responsibilities or job as law enforcement. Their job is simply to detain illegal immigrants until they are tried and deported. They do not have the right to stop vehicles and remove people from their cars, they do not have the right to order civilians around, and they sure do not have the right to fire randomly at innocent civilians who pose no threat.
Lyon Life 