This article documents a current event and may change rapidly.(January 2026) |
A request that this article title be changed to Killing of Renée Good is under discussion . Please do not move this article until the discussion is closed. |
| Part of immigration raids, arrests, and shootings by U.S. immigration agents in the second Trump administration | |
| Good, shortly before she was shot | |
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| Date | January 7, 2026 |
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| Time | 9:37 a.m. (CST; UTC-06:00) [1] |
| Location | Portland Avenue South Minneapolis, Minnesota, US |
| Coordinates | 44°56′32.0″N93°16′03.6″W / 44.942222°N 93.267667°W |
| Type | Shooting by law enforcement |
| Participants |
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| Deaths | Renee Good |
On January 7, 2026, Renee Nicole Macklin Good, a 37-year-old US citizen, was fatally shot by a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Good was in her car, stopped diagonally in the street when she was approached by agents. As Good began to drive away, an agent reached into the driver's side window. A separate agent then fired three shots, killing Good, as she began to drive in the direction of traffic.
Federal officials and President Donald Trump defended the shooting, saying the agent acted in self-defense and that Good had attempted to run him over. [5] This account has been contested by eyewitnesses, journalists, [6] local figures, and Democratic Party lawmakers, some of whom have called for a criminal investigation. [7] Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota governor Tim Walz called on the federal government to end their presence in the city. Thousands of people have protested in Minneapolis, [8] and more have protested in other cities including Chicago, New York City, and Washington, D.C. [9]
On January 6, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced what it called the largest immigration enforcement operation ever carried out, sending 2,000 agents to the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The surge included Homeland Security Investigations officers focused on suspected fraud. Saint Paul City Council member Molly Coleman described the first day of the action as "unlike any other day we've experienced". [10] [11] An eyewitness to the shooting said, "People in our neighborhood have been terrorized by ICE for six weeks." [12] Good's killing was the ninth time ICE agents had opened fire on people since September 2025. [13] Four other people have been killed during federal deportation operations. [14]
Renee Nicole Macklin Good [b] was a 37-year-old US citizen. [21] She was a writer and poet [22] [23] who lived in Minneapolis with her wife and six-year-old child. [24] [22] [25]
She was originally from Colorado Springs, Colorado. [26] She graduated with an English degree from Old Dominion University. [27] According to a neighbor, Good 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. [28]
Good had been married twice before. She and her first husband were married from 2009 to 2016 and had two children; she and her second husband had a single child. Her second husband died in 2023 at the age of 36. [27] [29] [30]
The day after the shooting, the Minnesota Star Tribune identified the ICE agent involved as Jonathan Ross. [2] His name has not been publicly released by federal authorities, but was identified by the Star Tribune through court records. [3] [4]
In press briefings held soon after the incident, both Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Vice President JD Vance mentioned that the shooting suspect had been injured previously in a traffic stop six months prior to this incident. Their statements led to the Star Tribune's discovery of the case describing such an incident. [2] [31] [32] The previous incident involving Ross occurred on June 17, 2025, when he was dragged 50 yards (45 m) and injured by a vehicle after he smashed its window and reached in to unlock the door; Ross received 33 stitches. [2] [33] [34]
Court documents listed his start date with ICE as 2016. [35] He had previously worked for the US Border Patrol from 2007 to 2015. [34] He was in the Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) unit of ICE at the time of the shooting and had previously been deployed during the Iraq War. [32] Ross testified in December that he was "a firearms instructor, an active shooter instructor ... a field intelligence officer, and ... a member of the SWAT team, the St. Paul Special Response Team." [36] His father described him as a conservative Christian, and a neighbor said that he had supported Trump during the 2024 election and at one point had flown the Gadsden flag outside his home. [37] [38]
The killing of Good took place on Portland Avenue between East 33rd and 34th Streets in the Central neighborhood of Minneapolis, a few blocks from Good's home. [22] [40]
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Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem alleged that Good had been "stalking and impeding ICE all day" prior to the 9:30 am shooting. [26] Several Minnesota state officials, including Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, [41] and United States Representative Ilhan Omar, [42] said Good was acting as a legal observer of ICE's activities at the time of the incident. [26] [43] Good's ex-husband said that Good had dropped her son off at school and was on her way home "when they came upon a group of ICE agents". [44] [45] [46] Good's ex-husband and mother said that they did not believe that Good had previously taken part in protests challenging ICE activities; her ex-husband said, "she was not an activist". [46] [22]
At 09:35:05 Central Standard Time (UTC−06:00), Good's maroon Honda Pilot SUV was stopped diagonally on Portland Avenue as she began to turn the vehicle, and four cars passed her in the open adjacent lane. [1]
At 09:36:51, Good's wife exited the vehicle and spoke with an ICE agent in the street as they recorded each other on cell phones, while Good stopped the car as the agent moved in front of it. At 09:36:58, a Ford Explorer entered Portland Avenue, Good waved to allow the driver to pass her car, and the vehicle did. As Good continued waving, a Nissan Titan stopped to the left side of her truck and two ICE agents stepped out. [1]
Video taken by Ross captured part of the encounter. In the footage, Ross was at the front of the car and then walked toward the driver's seat. Good is seen facing Ross and telling him that, "That's fine dude. I'm not mad at you," while her wife, Becca, says to Ross, "We don't change our plates every morning, just so you know. This will be the same plate when you come talk to us later." Becca then pulls out a cellphone, holds it toward Ross, and says, "You wanna come at us? You wanna come at us? I say go get yourself some lunch, big boy." [1] [47]
At 09:37:08, the ICE agents from the Nissan pickup approached Good's which was stopped sideways in the road and at least one of them repeatedly ordered her to "get out of the car". [1] [48] [21] [49] [50] An eyewitness claimed ICE agents gave conflicting orders to her with one agent telling Good to drive away from the scene while another shouted at her to get out of the car. [9] [51]
As Good was ordered to "get out of the car", she concurrently put the car in reverse while the agents approached. One of the ICE agents who approached her placed his hand on the open window of Good's vehicle. [1] Ross was positioned near the front-left of the vehicle as the agent at the driver's door attempted to open the door of the car and reach through the open window. As Good's spouse attempted to get back into the passenger seat, [47] Good reversed briefly, moving a few feet, with the agent's hands still positioned on the door. She then began to drive forward, away from the agents while turning the steering wheel. Good's wife was heard yelling "Drive, baby, drive!". [52]
The car began to drive forward and to the right. [48] [53] [54] It is unclear whether the vehicle ever came into contact with the shooter; separate analyses of the video footage by The Washington Post and the BBC News were inconclusive, while an analysis by The New York Times concluded that the agent was not struck. [55] [6] [54]
A later video first emerged on January 9, directly from Ross's own mobile phone, published online by Minnesota-based conservative news Alpha News, and later shared by the Department of Homeland Security. According to The Times , who reviewed the video from Ross's perspective, said "the front corner of the car clips him, turning him sideways", [47] and The Telegraph said he was "almost knocked off his feet as Good lurches the SUV towards him". [56] BBC News and Associated Press also reviewed the agent's mobile phone recording, and said the footage doesn't show the car making contact with Ross because the camera angle suddenly points upwards at the sky during the critical moments. [57] [58]
In the video taken by Ross, the camera briefly points up at his masked face. [59] At nearly the same time that the vehicle moves to the correct direction of traffic on the one-way street, Ross shot Good in the head, firing three shots into the car as it moved past him. [48] [53] [54] ABC News confirmed that Ross fired his weapon at Good at 09:37:13. [1] The three shots were fired into Good's car as it withdrew in under one second of elapsed time. [1]
After the shooting, the car continued down the street until it crashed into a parked car and light pole. [60] [13] [50] [61]
Ross approached the crashed car and returned to his colleagues. He told other agents to "call 911" and remained on scene for more than a minute. [54] [9] [51] [6] The New York Times reported in their analysis of a video of the incident that after the shooting, "several agents, including the agent who opened fire, [got] in their vehicles and [drove] off, apparently altering the active crime scene." [6] DHS secretary Kristi Noem said that the ICE agent who fired the shots was treated at a hospital for being "hit by the vehicle" and was later released. [62]
ICE agents refused to permit a bystander who identified himself as a physician to provide medical aid to Good, saying that first responders were en route. At 09:43:14, six minutes after the first shot was fired, EMS and firefighters arrived, began removing Good from her vehicle, and attempted to render aid. By 09:45:30, Good was carried to Portland Avenue and 34th Street, where she began receiving CPR, eight minutes after being shot. Seven minutes later, around 09:52, Good's body was placed into an ambulance. [1]
Good was pronounced dead after being taken to Hennepin County Medical Center. [12]
On January 8, the head of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension disclosed that the FBI had revoked their access to evidence of the shooting, reversing an earlier agreement that a joint investigation would be undertaken by the BCA and FBI. [63] Minnesota's Public Safety Commissioner said "it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible" for local investigation to continue "without cooperation from the federal government". [64]
Minneapolis's chief county prosecutor Mary Moriarty said her office was "exploring all options to ensure a state level investigation can continue"; [65] on January 9 she and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison asked residents to submit, per the Wall Street Journal , "videos, photos and eyewitness accounts of the shooting and the events leading up to it". The officials said it was too early to tell if enough evidence could be gathered to decide whether to charge the shooter. [66]
ICE policy requires agents to wear active body cameras to record enforcement and interactions for review in serious incidents. [67] The Times reported on January 9 that the ICE agents at the scene were equipped with body-worn cameras, but that footage has not yet been released to the public; [47] MPR News reported on January 8 that it was unknown whether or not the shooter was wearing one. [68] The Associated Press reported on January 9 that DHS "has not responded to questions about whether the officer who opened fire or any of the others who were on the scene were wearing body cameras." [67]
Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) cancelled class for the remainder of the week, citing safety concerns after the shooting and ICE's use of pepper spray and pepper balls against students at Roosevelt High School. [69] [70] Faculty at the high school said that armed ICE officers had handcuffed two members of the staff. [70] On January 9 MPS announced it would offer the option of remote learning until February 12. [71]
A fundraiser campaign on GoFundMe started by Good's family was closed on January 9 after reaching more than $1.5 million in donations. The family stated that the money would be placed in a trust fund for the family. [72]
The killing brought renewed attention to other incidents of killings by immigration agents, including an off-duty ICE officer's fatal shooting of Keith Porter Jr. a week earlier. [73] [74]
Good's death occurred about one mile (1.6 km) from the location where George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in 2020, which sparked worldwide protests over police brutality and racial justice. [75] Good's killing drew a crowd of hundreds of protesters to the location. [76] Federal law enforcement fired tear gas and pepper spray in Minneapolis, and some protesters threw snowballs. [77] At a press conference, Governor Walz announced he had begun preparing the Minnesota National Guard. [77] By the evening, the crowd at the location where Good was killed grew to thousands, including members of the Minneapolis City Council. [8] Protesters also gathered in many other cities across the country. [c]
On January 8, a crowd of people barricaded the street in Minneapolis where Good was killed to hold a vigil in her memory. [101] City workers removed the barricades shortly after, but preserved a memorial established. [102] More protests occurred elsewhere, including in Buffalo, [103] Chapel Hill, [104] Durham, [105] Kansas City, [106] and Los Angeles. [107] Over 1,000 protests were planned for the following weekend, with tens of thousands marching in Minneapolis on January 10. [108]
| Part of a series on |
| Immigration policy of the second Trump administration |
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DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin alleged that an ICE officer "fearing for his life" had shot Good in self-defense after she allegedly attempted to run them over in what McLaughlin described as "an act of domestic terrorism". [40] After the release of camera phone footage taken by Ross, McLaughlin said "The American people can watch this video with their own eyes and ears and judge for themselves." [109] [110] [111] DHS claimed several Federal agents were injured but were expected to recover. A report published by The Guardian the same day said there were "no visible sign in the videos" of injuries to ICE officers in the incident. [11]
United States president Donald Trump described Good as "very disorderly, obstructing and resisting, who then violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer, who seems to have shot her in self defense". [112] He went on to say that he found it "hard to believe [the agent] is alive, but is now recovering in the hospital". [113] The ICE officer in question remained on his feet throughout the entirety of the incident. [114] When reporters with The New York Times questioned his conclusion during an interview in the Oval Office, Trump showed them a video of the incident. The reporters remarked that the video did not show the officer being run over, and he responded, "Well, I—the way I look at it", and then said, "It's a terrible scene, I think it's horrible to watch. No, I hate to see it." [115] Vice President JD Vance called Good's death "a tragedy of her own making" and called her "a victim of left-wing ideology". [31] DHS Secretary Kristi Noem alleged that Good "attacked [ICE] and those surrounding them and attempted to run them over and ram them with her vehicle. An officer of ours acted quickly and defensively shot to protect himself and the people around him." [50] The next day, Noem announced Operation Salvo, which would increase ICE presence in New York City. [116]
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries demanded a criminal investigation, with other Democrats in Congress, such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, also calling for investigations. [117] Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Committee, accused the FBI of a cover-up when it was announced that the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension had their access to the investigation revoked. [118] [ needs context ]
By January 8, 2026, ICE was still conducting raids in Minneapolis, extending south into neighboring Richfield. [119] [120]
Speaking at a press conference on the afternoon of the killing, Minnesota governor Tim Walz called it "the consequences of governance designed to generate fear, headlines and conflict" and added "we do not need any further help from the federal government". [121] Walz announced that he was ordering the state's National Guard to adopt a state of preparedness. [122]
In response to DHS statements that the driver was "weaponizing" her car to run over an ICE agent, Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey noted that the video footage of the incident did not appear to suggest this, stating: "Having seen the video myself, I want to tell everybody directly that is bullshit" and "To ICE, get the fuck out of Minneapolis". [60] The Minneapolis Police Department activated mutual aid from surrounding jurisdictions and bolstered local law enforcement resources as a precautionary response to any potential civil unrest. [123]
Walz proclaimed January 9, 2026, to be "Renee Good Day." [124]
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Policing experts speaking to the Associated Press questioned the shooter's holding a cellphone during the incident. Criminology professor Geoff Alpert said he "want[s] to see the officer training that permits" holding a gun with one hand while filming on a phone with the other. Professor John P. Gross said that the officer having "one hand on a cellphone ... casually filming" demonstrated that Good was not seen as a threat. [67]
According to The Atlantic , the incident historically would have been investigated by the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties "to review policies, training, and oversight procedures to try to prevent anything like it from happening again", but the Office was disabled early the previous year along with two other DHS oversight offices. [125]
PBS News Hour interviewed an eyewitness to the shooting who said "My interpretation at the time and still is that the person was trying to get away, and there was definitely space to drive forward without hitting anybody. ... [A]t the time, I did not even think there was a risk of her hitting anybody." [126] Another eyewitness told MPR News, "I just can't be more clear that she posed absolutely no threat at all. From what I could tell it looked like she was attempting to leave." [9] Analysis of video footage by The New York Times corroborates that Good was driving away from the agent. [6]
CNN interviewed other eyewitnesses. One of them said that Good was pulling away when "An ICE agent stepped in front of her vehicle and said, 'Stop!' and then—I mean, she was already moving—and then, point blank, shot her through her windshield in the face." Another resident described the incident by stating that "[Good's] car backed up slowly and proceeded to pull forward pretty slowly [...] Then the agent who fired the weapon was on the opposite side of the car to me and I heard four, possibly five shots, and then the car sped forward because ... this person's injured and their foot went down." [127] A nearby resident said that, after he heard Good's car smash, he went outside and saw Good's wife "covered in blood" and sitting in front of the building, crying, "You guys just killed my wife." [127] [128] [45]
The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday that it launched what it described as the largest immigration enforcement operation ever carried out by the agency — with 2,000 federal agents and officers expected in the Minneapolis area for a crackdown tied in part to allegations of fraud involving Somali residents.
I am a firearms instructor, an active shooter instructor," he testified. "I'm also a field intelligence officer, and I am a member of the SWAT team, the St. Paul Special Response Team.
Good, 37, was driving back home from school drop-off with her current partner on Wednesday, Jan. 7, when they came upon a group of ICE agents, her ex-husband told The Associated Press. The man, who asked to remain anonymous, said Good and her partner had moved to Minneapolis last year from Kansas City, Mo. Good's ex-husband said that she was not an activist, and had not taken part in protests in the past, to his knowledge.
As a slow-motion surveillance video of the shooting played on the laptop, we told him that this angle did not appear to show an ICE officer had been run over. / 'Well,' Trump said. 'I — the way I look at it … .' / 'It's a terrible scene,' Trump said at the end of the video. 'I think it's horrible to watch. No, I hate to see it.'
If the [CRCL] was still functioning ... [it] would have spent yesterday opening an investigation ... to review policies, training, and oversight procedures to try to prevent anything like it from happening again. But today, the office is effectively dormant ... The administration also closed two other offices with mandates to protect the public from misconduct—the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman and the Immigration Detention Ombudsman