Renee Nicole Good had just returned from dropping off her 6-year-old son at school when she was shot dead inside her vehicle by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer Jonathan Ross in Minnesota.
Protesters have now spilt out into the streets in several cities, including Austin, Boston, Minneapolis and New York City, after anger erupted over the killing of the 37-year-old mother of three. Minnesota residents have demanded a complete and transparent investigation into the shooting and are calling for the ICE officer to leave the state.
Who was Renee Nicole Good?
On January 7, Renee Nicole Good had just dropped off her 6-year-old child at an elementary school and was returning when she encountered the federal immigration agents. She was accompanied by her wife.
Her ex-husband told AP that Good and her partner had moved to Minneapolis last year from Kansas City, Missouri. She has three kids aged 6, 12, and 15.
The Minnesota Star Tribune reported that the Goods’ second marriage was to Timmy Ray Macklin, with whom she had her third child, who is the 6-year-old. Macklin died aged 36 in 2013, his father confirmed to the news outlet.
She had her first two children from a separate first marriage.
Good, her 6-year-old son and her current partner had recently settled on a quiet residential area in Minnesota. She did not have any history of criminal charges and had gotten only a traffic ticket once.
On her social media, she described herself as a “poet and writer and wife and mom.” She also had a pride flag on her account.
Some media sources have claimed that Good was part of an anti-ICE group called “ICE-Watch”and that she was involved in “social justice”. ICE Watch activists reportedly use phone apps, whistles and car horns to warn neighbourhoods when ICE officers appear in residential areas.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem accused Good of “domestic terrorism” and stalking ICE agents.
Her ex-husband, who asked to remain anonymous, told AP that Good was not an activist and had never participated in a protest to his knowledge. He said that she was trying to head home when she encountered the group of ICE agents on the Street.
Her mother, who spoke to The Star Tribune, called her “extremely compassionate” and said “She’s taken care of people all her life. She was loving, forgiving, and affectionate. She was an amazing human being.” She also said that Good was not part of any type of protests against the ICE.
Good studied creative writing at Old Dominion University in Virginia and won a prize in 2020 for one of her works, according to a post on the school’s English department Facebook page. She also hosted a podcast with her second husband, who died in 2023.
In now viral videos shot by bystanders, Good’s partner is seen filming the ICE agents from outside the car. After the shooting, her partner was seen chasing her car before it crashed into a parked vehicle on the street and fell to the ground and was crying. In the video, she is heard saying, “They shot my wife,” and “I made her come down here, it’s my fault.”
When a bystander was asked if there was anybody they could call, she said, “I have a 6-year-old at school... we're new here, we don't have anyone."
The entire incident took place in less than 30 seconds
Attempts to reach Good’s partner have received no response.