Family and neighbors mourn woman shot by ICE agent after making Minneapolis her home
Before she was fatally shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, 37-year-old Renee Good had just dropped her youngest child off at an elementary school in Minneapolis, the city she and her family had recently begun to call home.
As Trump administration officials continued Thursday to describe Good as a domestic terrorist who tried to ram federal agents with her Honda Pilot, those who knew her remembered someone very different: a gentle, kind, and openhearted mother, wife, and neighbor.
Good, her wife and her 6-year-old son had recently moved from Kansas City, Missouri, to a quiet Minneapolis neighborhood lined with older homes and small apartment buildings. Some front porches were still decorated with pride flags and lingering holiday lights. In the days following her death, neighbors grew weary of media attention. One handwritten sign taped to a front door read, “NO MEDIA INQUIRIES” and “JUSTICE FOR RENEE.”
Contrary to claims that she posed a serious threat, Good was a U.S. citizen born in Colorado and appeared to have no criminal history beyond a single traffic ticket.
On social media, she described herself as a “poet and writer and wife and mom.” In recent posts, she wrote that she was “experiencing Minneapolis,” accompanied by a pride emoji. Her online profiles included photos of her smiling with a young child, along with posts about tattoos, hairstyles, and home décor.
Her ex-husband, who asked not to be identified out of concern for their children’s safety, said Good was not politically active and never participated in protests. He said she was driving home when she encountered a group of ICE agents on a snowy street.
State and local officials, along with protesters, have rejected the administration’s account of the shooting. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said video evidence undermines claims that the officers acted in self-defense.
A bystander video circulating on social media shows an officer approaching Good’s vehicle, ordering her to open the door, and grabbing the handle. As the vehicle begins to move forward, another ICE officer standing in front of it draws his weapon and fires at least two shots into the car at close range. The encounter unfolds in less than 10 seconds.
In a separate video recorded moments later, a distraught woman sits near the vehicle, crying out, “That’s my wife, I don’t know what to do!”
Good’s wife did not respond to calls or messages seeking comment.
On Thursday, several dozen people gathered on the one-way street where Good was killed. Steel drums filled with burning wood blocked the road as mourners tried to stay warm amid freezing rain. Flowers and a handmade cross marked a makeshift memorial as passersby stopped to pay their respects.
According to her ex-husband, Good was a devoted Christian who participated in youth mission trips to Northern Ireland in her younger years. She loved music, sang in a high school chorus and studied vocal performance in college.
She later studied creative writing at Old Dominion University in Virginia and won a writing prize in 2020. She also co-hosted a podcast with her second husband, who died in 2023.
A former professor from Old Dominion recalled Good balancing coursework with motherhood in 2019 and described her as deeply supportive of her peers.
“What stood out in her writing was her outward focus,” he said. “In a competitive environment, her presence helped make the classroom a more supportive place.”
Good is survived by three children — a 15-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son from her first marriage, and a 6-year-old son from her second. In recent years, she was primarily a stay-at-home parent, though she previously worked as a dental assistant and at a credit union.
Her mother, Donna Ganger, said the family was notified of Good’s death late Wednesday morning.
“Renee was one of the kindest people I’ve ever known,” she said. “She was deeply compassionate, loving and forgiving. She spent her life caring for others, and she was an amazing human being.”Before she was fatally shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, 37-year-old Renee Good had just dropped her youngest child off at an elementary school in Minneapolis, the city she and her family had recently begun to call home.
As Trump administration officials continued Thursday to describe Good as a domestic terrorist who tried to ram federal agents with her Honda Pilot, those who knew her remembered someone very different: a gentle, kind and openhearted mother, wife and neighbor.
Good, her wife and her 6-year-old son had recently moved from Kansas City, Missouri, to a quiet Minneapolis neighborhood lined with older homes and small apartment buildings. Some front porches were still decorated with pride flags and lingering holiday lights. In the days following her death, neighbors grew weary of media attention. One handwritten sign taped to a front door read, “NO MEDIA INQUIRIES” and “JUSTICE FOR RENEE.”
Contrary to claims that she posed a serious threat, Good was a U.S. citizen born in Colorado and appeared to have no criminal history beyond a single traffic ticket.
On social media, she described herself as a “poet and writer and wife and mom.” In recent posts, she wrote that she was “experiencing Minneapolis,” accompanied by a pride emoji. Her online profiles included photos of her smiling with a young child, along with posts about tattoos, hairstyles and home décor.
Her ex-husband, who asked not to be identified out of concern for their children’s safety, said Good was not politically active and never participated in protests. He said she was driving home when she encountered a group of ICE agents on a snowy street.
State and local officials, along with protesters, have rejected the administration’s account of the shooting. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said video evidence undermines claims that the officers acted in self-defense.
Bystander video circulating on social media shows an officer approaching Good’s vehicle, ordering her to open the door and grabbing the handle. As the vehicle begins to move forward, another ICE officer standing in front of it draws his weapon and fires at least two shots into the car at close range. The encounter unfolds in less than 10 seconds.
In a separate video recorded moments later, a distraught woman sits near the vehicle, crying out, “That’s my wife, I don’t know what to do!”
Good’s wife did not respond to calls or messages seeking comment.
On Thursday, several dozen people gathered on the one-way street where Good was killed. Steel drums filled with burning wood blocked the road as mourners tried to stay warm amid freezing rain. Flowers and a handmade cross marked a makeshift memorial as passersby stopped to pay their respects.
According to her ex-husband, Good was a devoted Christian who participated in youth mission trips to Northern Ireland in her younger years. She loved music, sang in a high school chorus and studied vocal performance in college.
She later studied creative writing at Old Dominion University in Virginia and won a writing prize in 2020. She also co-hosted a podcast with her second husband, who died in 2023.
A former professor from Old Dominion recalled Good balancing coursework with motherhood in 2019 and described her as deeply supportive of her peers.
“What stood out in her writing was her outward focus,” he said. “In a competitive environment, her presence helped make the classroom a more supportive place.”
Good is survived by three children — a 15-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son from her first marriage, and a 6-year-old son from her second. In recent years, she was primarily a stay-at-home parent, though she previously worked as a dental assistant and at a credit union.
Her mother, Donna Ganger, said the family was notified of Good’s death late Wednesday morning.
“Renee was one of the kindest people I’ve ever known,” she said. “She was deeply compassionate, loving and forgiving. She spent her life caring for others, and she was an amazing human being.”
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