Family and friends in Minneapolis, Minnesota, are mourning following the passing of Renee Nicole Good, who died on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. The 37-year-old mother and poet was fatally shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent during an immigration enforcement operation in the city’s Central neighborhood.
The fatal shooting occurred around 9:30 a.m. on a residential stretch of Portland Avenue between East 33rd and 34th Streets. Videos captured by witnesses show Good’s maroon SUV stopped in the road as ICE agents approached on foot. The Minneapolis Police Department stated the vehicle was blocking the roadway.
One agent grabbed the driver’s side door handle and demanded she exit, while another agent positioned himself near the front of the SUV. Witnesses, including a woman named Betsy who spoke to ABC News, described hearing agents give conflicting commands—one yelling for Good to get out of the car, while another may have told her to drive away.
As Good’s vehicle began to pull forward, the ICE agent standing near the front drew his weapon and fired multiple shots into the SUV at close range. The gunfire caused Good to lose control; her vehicle crashed into a parked car and a light pole a short distance down the street.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said his officers performed life-saving measures, including CPR, but Good was pronounced dead at Hennepin County Medical Center. Her mother, Donna Ganger, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that her daughter was “probably terrified” and was “not part of anything like that at all,” referring to any confrontation with agents.
The shooting has ignited a fierce political conflict and widespread protests. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem defended the agent’s actions, stating Good had “weaponized her vehicle” in an attempt to run over the officer and committed “an act of domestic terrorism”. President Donald Trump echoed this, calling it a clear act of self-defense.
In stark opposition, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, after viewing video of the incident, forcefully rejected the federal narrative, calling it “bullshit” and demanding ICE agents “get the fuck out of Minneapolis”. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz also condemned the shooting, calling it the “predictable” result of federal operations designed to generate fear.
Renee Nicole Good is remembered as a kind and creative soul. An Instagram account described her as a “poet and writer and wife and mom and shitty guitar strummer from Colorado; experiencing Minneapolis, MN”. She was a U.S. citizen and a mother to a six-year-old son, whose father, a military veteran, had died in 2023. She had won a poetry prize in 2020 while studying creative writing. Her mother remembered her as “extremely compassionate” and “an amazing human being”.
The incident has triggered a federal investigation by the FBI and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. In response to the shooting and ensuing tensions, Minneapolis Public Schools canceled classes for the remainder of the week. On the evening of January 7, thousands of community members gathered at the site of the shooting for a solemn candlelight vigil to mourn Good and protest the actions of federal agents.
