Renée Good killing: Difference between revisions

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Killing of Renée Good by an ICE agent

1Killed

Four gunshot wounds (two chest, one forearm, one head/temple)Injured

Date: 2026-01-07
Time: 9:37 a.m. CST
City: Minneapolis
County: Hennepin County
State: Minnesota
Location: Portland Avenue South, between E 33rd & 34th Streets, Central neighborhood (~1 mile from George Floyd Square)
Agencies: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), ERO; DHS. Part of "Operation Metro Surge". MPD not involved.
Operation: Street stop during a mass operation; agent shot the driver through her car windows
Status: Contested; DOJ Civil Rights Division declined to investigate. No charges filed.
Agents: ICE agent Ross, Jonathan (fired the shots)
Vehicles: Victim's Honda Pilot SUV; ICE Nissan Titan
Verification: Independent video analyses (NYT, CNN, BBC) dispute the "ran over the agent" claim; family-commissioned autopsy

Key sources

Renée Nicole Macklin Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, writer and mother of three, was shot and killed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Jonathan Ross at about 9:37 a.m. on Wednesday, 7 January 2026, on Portland Avenue South in Minneapolis, roughly a mile from George Floyd Square. Good had just dropped her son at school and was in her SUV when agents surrounded her; Ross fired three shots through her windshield and driver's-side window as the vehicle turned away from him. The government said she "ran over" the agent in self-defense; independent video analyses found the agent was not struck, and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, after viewing the footage, publicly called that account "bullshit." Good was the first person killed in "Operation Metro Surge" and the first of two U.S. citizens killed by federal agents in Minneapolis that month.

The official account (DHS / ICE / White House)

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said Good "attempted to run them over and ram them," that Ross was "hit by the vehicle," was hospitalized with "internal bleeding," and was later released. President Donald Trump said Good "violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer, who seems to have shot her in self defense." Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the DOJ would not open a criminal investigation, asserting "everybody can watch the videos and see that [Ross] got attacked with a car that was trying to take his life."

What is actually documented

The victim. Renée Nicole Macklin Good, 37, was a writer and poet, originally from Colorado Springs, with a degree from Old Dominion University. Widowed in 2023, she was raising three children (the youngest age 6). Officials said she was out "caring for her neighbors" and had just dropped her son at school.
The operation. DHS had announced "Operation Metro Surge" the day before (6 January), deploying about 2,000 agents to the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metro in what it called the largest immigration-enforcement operation ever carried out.
The stop. Good, in a Honda Pilot, stopped in the street. Ross circled her vehicle on foot, recording. Good said, "That's fine, dude. I'm not mad at you." Her partner, Becca, stood behind the SUV recording and stated they were U.S. citizens. Two agents from a Nissan Titan approached; one reached through Good's open window, repeatedly ordering her to "get out of the fucking car."
The shooting. Good shifted into reverse, then forward and to the right. Ross moved to the front-left of the SUV and fired three shots in under one second — one through the windshield, two through the driver's window — as the vehicle turned away into traffic. She was struck four times (two chest, one forearm, one head). The SUV crashed into a parked car and light pole.
Medical response. ICE agents blocked a physician who tried to help; one said "I don't care" when the doctor identified himself. EMS arrived about six minutes after the shooting; Good was pronounced dead at Hennepin County Medical Center. A family-commissioned autopsy found the temple wound likely killed her and that the arm and chest wounds would not have been "immediately life-threatening."
The agent. Jonathan Ross, an ICE ERO agent and former Border Patrol agent, firearms instructor and Special Response Team member. He received three days' administrative leave, was reassigned from Minnesota, and by April 2026 was reported working as an ICE agent in New York.

Scrutiny of the official account

This section explains why the "she ran over the agent / self-defense" narrative should not be accepted. It rests on sourced facts — video analyses, incident records, and the family's independent autopsy.

Independent analysis says the agent was not struck. The New York Times concluded Ross "crossed to the left of the SUV [and] opened fire while its wheels were pointed to the right away from him" — i.e., the vehicle was moving away, not at him. CNN and the BBC found the videos do not show the agent being hit. Ross's own phone camera "jerked skyward" at the key moment, capturing no contact.
No record of the claimed injury. The Star Tribune reported there is "no documentation in the incident reports that [Ross] required any medical attention on the scene," despite official claims that he was hospitalized with internal bleeding.
The mayor who saw the footage rejected the account outright. Mayor Jacob Frey: "Having seen the video myself, I want to tell everybody directly that is bullshit."
Medical aid was actively obstructed. Agents prevented a doctor from reaching a dying woman.
The investigation was suppressed, and the widow was targeted instead of the shooter. The FBI revoked the Minnesota BCA's access to evidence on 8 January; the DOJ Civil Rights Division (under AAG Harmeet Dhillon) declined to open a constitutional inquiry, triggering mass resignations of Civil Rights Division and District of Minnesota prosecutors — several citing "the Justice Department's push to investigate the widow" while showing "reluctance to investigate the shooter." An FBI supervisor, Tracee Mergen, resigned after being pressured to drop a civil-rights inquiry. In March 2026 Minnesota, Hennepin County and the BCA sued the DOJ and DHS over withheld evidence.
Pattern. Good's death was the ninth ICE shooting since September 2025 and the first of three federal immigration shootings in Minneapolis within three weeks — followed by the killing of Alex Pretti on 24 January, another U.S. citizen whose death was ruled a homicide.

Unanswered questions

Will the government release all bodycam and agent phone footage in full?
Is there any medical evidence that Ross was actually struck or hospitalized, as officials claimed?
Why did agents block a physician from rendering aid?
Why was the BCA's evidence access revoked, and why did DOJ decline to investigate a killing this contested?
Why was Good's widow investigated while the shooter was not?
Will Jonathan Ross or any official face charges?

Official and community response

Family: Good's wife/partner released a statement; a bystander reported seeing Becca Good "covered in blood," saying "you guys just killed my wife." A family fundraiser raised about $1.5 million before closing.
Mayor Jacob Frey: "To ICE, get the fuck out of Minneapolis."
Gov. Tim Walz: called the killing a consequence "of governance designed to generate fear, headlines and conflict," proclaimed 9 January "Renee Good Day," and placed the National Guard on standby.
Police Chief Brian O'Hara: called the killing "predictable and preventable."
AG Keith Ellison and Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty sought public video/evidence and sued to halt ICE deployments.
Aftermath: thousands protested at the scene and nationwide ("ICE Out For Good"); agents used tear gas and pepper spray. Minneapolis Public Schools cancelled classes after agents deployed chemical agents near Roosevelt High School.

Help document this incident

If you witnessed this shooting, were present during Operation Metro Surge, or have photos, video, or other information:

Submit a tip / report: Submit an incident report
Upload photos or video: Upload media to the ICE List (preserve original files and metadata where safe to do so)
Identify an agent or vehicle: Submit agent information

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