E-Paper
How did Renee Good end up in a fatal ICE shooting? What her wife Becca revealed
“We had whistles. They had guns,” Becca said, describing the imbalance she felt during the encounter.
Freshly surfaced video footage and personal accounts have added details to how Renee Good was shot dead. She was a 37-year-old poet and mother of three, fatally shot by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Minneapolis on January 7. The incident has triggered nationwide protests.
A 47-second video filmed on the cellphone of the ICE officer involved captures some of Good’s final moments. In the footage, she appears calm, telling the officer, “That’s fine, dude. I’m not mad at you,” seconds before gunfire erupts as her vehicle begins to move forward into the street.
The video became a part of divergent accounts of what happened next. Federal officials described the shooting as self-defense, and local leaders and eyewitnesses dispute that version based on the footage.
‘We had whistles. They had guns’: What Becca Good said
In her first public statement, released to Minnesota Public Radio (MPR News), Good’s wife Becca Good said the couple had stopped during an ICE operation simply to support their neighbors.
“We had whistles. They had guns,” she said, describing the imbalance she felt during the encounter.
Becca said Renee lived by a deep belief in compassion and community, values that guided her actions that day.
She described her wife as someone whose kindness was immediately felt by those around her. “She literally sparkled,” Becca said, adding that Renee believed all people deserved care and dignity, regardless of background.
Also Read: Renee Nicole Good's family in shock after Minneapolis ICE shooting; ‘she was terrified’
The couple had recently moved to Minneapolis seeking a better life and said they found a welcoming community there. “Here, I had finally found peace and safe harbor,” Becca said. “That has been taken from me forever.” Becca added that Renee leaves behind three children, including a six-year-old son the couple was raising together.
What the video and officials’ accounts show
The video begins with ICE officer Jonathan Ross approaching Good’s Honda SUV, which was partially blocking traffic. As he circles the vehicle and films its license plate, Becca Good can be heard telling him the car belonged to a US citizen.
Another ICE agent then approaches from the driver’s side and orders Renee Good to exit the vehicle.
Also Check: All angles of Minneapolis ICE shooting: Watch videos amid outrage over Renee Good killing
Footage shows her reversing briefly before putting the car into forward gear and turning the wheel, apparently trying to leave. As the car moves, Ross shouts and fires multiple shots.
Federal officials, including Vice President JD Vance, have said the officer’s life was endangered and defended the shooting. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey rejected that narrative, calling it “garbage” based on the video evidence.
