Who Was Renee Nicole Good? Minnesota Mom-Of-3 Killed In ICE Shooting

Renee Nicole Macklin Good, a 37-year-old US citizen, was shot dead by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Minneapolis around 9:30 am on January 7. Across the US, several communities have come together to hold vigils and demand justice for the victim. Friends and family describe her as an "amazing human being." 

Who Was Renee Nicole Macklin Good?

Renee Good was a 37-year-old poet and writer, born and raised in Colorado. She was a US citizen and appears to have never been charged with anything involving law enforcement.

According to a neighbour, Renee had previously lived in Kansas City, Missouri, before relocating to Canada along with her partner and family, following Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 presidential election. Later, she moved to Minneapolis.

Renee was married twice before. She had two children, aged 12 and 15, from the first marriage, and one son, aged 6, from the second marriage. Her second husband died in 2023, according to The Star Tribune.

Renee's first husband revealed that she had just dropped off her six-year-old son at school and was driving home when they encountered a group of ICE agents just a few blocks from her house.

The six-year-old's grandfather told The Star Tribune, "There is nobody else in the child's life."

Renee's mother, Donna Ganger, told the outlet that her daughter "took care of people all her life" and was loving, forgiving and affectionate. Renee's neighbours told CNN that the whole family was "really sweet."

She is "a neighbour who, you know, is not a terrorist. Not an extremist," said Joan Rose, a former neighbour in Kansas. "That was just a mom who loved her kids, loved her spouse."

Renee also loved to sing and participated in a chorus in high school and college, her first husband revealed. She also took up an advanced course in vocal performance at Old Dominion University in Virginia, where she graduated in 2020 with an English degree.

The Shooting incident

Renee and her current partner were on the way home from her son's school when they encountered a group of immigration agents around 9:30 a.m. Renee's mother told the Star Tribune that Good was not part of ICE-related protests.

Video taken by bystanders and posted to social media shows an officer approaching Renee's car, demanding she open the door and grabbing the handle. 

When she begins to pull forward, a different agent standing in front of the vehicle pulls his weapon and immediately fires at least two shots into the vehicle at close range.

This is a must watch.

The NY Times carefully debunk every lie that Trump, Vance and their administration have told about the brutal murder of Renee Nicole Good by ICE.

Please RT far and wide 🙏

We cannot let them get away with this! pic.twitter.com/V3CYUG3OzK

— Harry Eccles (@Heccles94) January 8, 2026

The entire incident was over in less than 10 seconds. In another video taken after the shooting, Renee's partner can be seen sitting near the vehicle, screaming, "That’s my wife, I don’t know what to do!"

Another video shows a bystander doctor being prevented from helping Renee after she was shot. The doctor asks an ICE officer, "I'm a physician... Can I check her pulse?" to which the officer responds, 'I don't care." However, the accuracy of this video is unclear.

Homeland Security's response

Kristi Noem, Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security, claimed that Renee Good "weaponised her vehicle" and described the incident as an act of "domestic terrorism."

By January 8, 2026, ICE was still conducting raids in Minneapolis, extending into the neighbouring city of Richfield. The day after the shooting, Noem announced operations to increase ICE presence in New York City. 

DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said that the ICE officer had shot Renee in self-defence after she allegedly attempted to run them over. He was allegedly "fearing for his life."

What does the White House have to say?

United States President Donald Trump described Renee Good as "very disorderly, obstructing and resisting, who then violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer."

He went on to say that he found it "hard to believe the ICE agent is alive, but is now recovering in the hospital." The DHS also claims that many other officers were injured in the encounter.

US Vice President J.D. Vance alleged that Renee was part of a "broader left-wing network" participating in violent activity against American law enforcement.

He also claimed that he felt "very, very bad" about Renee's death but that the shooting was "a tragedy of her own making. The Vice President went on to call her "a victim of left-wing ideology."

Minnesota officials react

Minnesota governor Tim Walz called Renee Good's killing "the consequences of governance designed to generate fear, headlines and conflict." He added, "We do not need any further help from the federal government."

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey reacted strongly to it, even going so far as to say, "To ICE, get the f*** outa Minneapolis," while addressing the media.

Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey noted that the video of the incident did not appear to suggest that Renee Good was a threat to the ICE agent. "I want to tell everybody directly that is bullshit," he said.

ICE, get the fuck out of Minneapolis. pic.twitter.com/1gfFC0Le6Q

— Mayor Jacob Frey (@MayorFrey) January 7, 2026

The Minneapolis Police Department activated mutual aid from surrounding jurisdictions and bolstered local law enforcement resources in preparation for potential civil unrest in the coming days.