Renee Nicole Good was a 37-year-old mother of three, an award-winning poet, and a woman described by those who knew her as “one of the kindest people I’ve ever known.” On January 7, 2026, she was shot and killed by a federal immigration agent in Minneapolis, leaving behind a community in mourning and a nation grappling with questions about justice, compassion, and the value of human life.

Who Was Renee?

Renee was more than the headlines that followed her death. She was a devoted Christian who had participated in youth missions to Northern Ireland. She was a prize-winning poet who won an undergraduate award from the Academy of American Poets for her piece “On Learning to Dissect Fetal Pigs.” She was a mother raising her children to believe that “no matter where you come from or what you look like, all of us deserve compassion and kindness.”

Her mother, Donna Ganger, remembers her as “extremely compassionate” — someone who “had taken care of people all her life. She was loving, forgiving and affectionate. She was an amazing human being.”

Renee had recently moved to Minneapolis from Kansas City with her wife, Rebecca Good. She lived just blocks from where she was killed, near the same area where George Floyd was murdered in 2020, another tragedy that sparked worldwide calls for justice.

The Tragedy and Rights Violations

The circumstances surrounding Renee’s death remain contested, but evidence points to serious violations of her constitutional rights. As a legal observer, Renee was exercising her First Amendment right to monitor government activities and document potential abuses. When ICE agents told her to leave, they were violating her protected right to observe and report on law enforcement operations.

Video analysis from multiple camera angles shows that Renee was driving away when the officer shot her three times. The ICE agent positioned himself in front of her moving vehicle and fired, directly violating official police recommendations and Department of Homeland Security policy, which explicitly prohibits shooting at the operators of moving vehicles.

This incident also represents a clear Fourth Amendment violation. The officer took less than three seconds to approach Renee’s car, attempt to yank the door handle, and reach inside the vehicle before firing. This constitutes an unreasonable seizure and use of excessive force, particularly given that Renee was attempting to leave the situation.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, after reviewing video evidence, rejected the administration’s claims: “Having seen the video myself, I want to tell everybody directly: that is bullshit. This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying, getting killed.”

The incident highlights systemic issues with ICE training and accountability. ICE agents receive just a fraction of the training that regular law enforcement officers get, with recent reductions bringing the requirement down to only 47 days. This lack of proper training, combined with reduced accountability, creates conditions where such tragedies become more likely.

A Legacy of Love

In the wake of her death, Renee’s family has asked the public to focus on “humanity, empathy, and care for the family most affected” amid the heated political discourse. Her wife Rebecca shared: “We were raising our son to believe that no matter where you come from or what you look like, all of us deserve compassion and kindness. Renee lived this belief every day. She is pure love. She is pure joy. She is pure sunshine.”

A Call to Awareness

Renee’s death is not just another headline; it’s a stark reminder of the human cost of political division and institutional violence. It calls us to examine how we treat those who stand up for others, how we value human life, and how we respond to tragedy with compassion rather than hate.

Let us honor her legacy by embodying the very qualities she lived by: compassion, kindness, and unwavering love for humanity.

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This memorial is dedicated to all those who have lost their lives while standing up for justice and human dignity.

Sources

• Washington Post
• BBC News: “Who was Renee Nicole Good, the woman killed by ICE?”
• Minnesota Public Radio
• Minnesota Star Tribune
• Tiffany Wertheimer