A masked federal immigration agent shot and killed a woman during a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minneapolis on Wednesday, setting off protests across Minnesota and beyond and intensifying scrutiny of federal immigration enforcement tactics under the Trump administration. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the shooting, which occurred on a snowy residential road less than a mile from where police killed George Floyd in 2020.
The woman was later identified as Renee Nicole Good, a 37 year old U.S. citizen, Minneapolis resident, and mother. Her identity was confirmed by her mother, Donna Ganger, who told the Minnesota Star Tribune that the family was notified of her death Wednesday morning. U.S. Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota also identified Good as a U.S. citizen.
Local reporting described a confrontation between residents protesting ICE activity and masked federal agents operating in the area. According to those accounts, residents were blocking federal vehicles on a snow covered residential street when the shooting occurred. The incident was recorded from multiple angles, with video footage corroborated by witness statements.
Video described in local reports shows a running car stopped perpendicular to traffic, with Good in the driver’s seat and the window rolled down. Two federal agents arrived in a truck and joined other masked officers already on the scene. As agents confronted the driver, a voice can be heard saying “get out of the fucking car.” One agent rushed to the driver’s door and attempted to pull the handle, which was locked.
As the agent tried to force entry, the driver backed up and then began moving forward, appearing to attempt to maneuver around another stopped vehicle and leave the scene. At that moment, another masked federal agent moved into view at the front of the car and fired at the driver’s head. Three shots can be heard on the recording. After the shooting, the car accelerated and crashed into a parked vehicle on the opposite side of the road. Good’s body was slumped over inside.
One witness, Emily Heller, who lives on the road where the shooting occurred, told Minnesota Public Radio that the agent who fired the shots had positioned himself directly in front of the vehicle. “She was trying to turn around, and the ICE agent was in front of her car, and he pulled out a gun and put it right in — like, his midriff was on her bumper—and he reached across the hood of the car and shot her in the face like three, four times,” Heller said.
Within hours, senior federal officials publicly framed the killing as an act of self defense. President Donald Trump posted a slowed down clip of the shooting on Truth Social, claiming the woman “violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer, who seems to have shot her in self defense,” and adding that “it is hard to believe [the officer] is alive.” Trump also claimed the agent was in the hospital and blamed the “Radical Left” for the incident.
The description offered by Trump was immediately challenged by video evidence cited in local reporting, which showed the agent several feet away from the car during what appeared to be the second and third shots.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem reinforced that narrative during an appearance on Fox News just hours after the killing. “Our ICE officers were out on an enforcement action. They got stuck in the snow,” Noem said. “They were attempting to push out their vehicle, and a woman attacked them, and those surrounding them, and attempted to run them over.” Noem labeled the incident “an act of domestic terrorism.”
Those statements were met with immediate condemnation from local and national officials, who said the claims were directly contradicted by video and eyewitness accounts. U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota responded on X, saying, “You’re lying. There was no attempt to run the officer over and no ICE agents appear to be hurt,” before adding, “Get out of our city.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey also rejected the federal government’s account after reviewing the footage. “Having seen the video myself, I want to tell everyone directly. That is bullshit,” Frey said during a press conference. He later reiterated his demand for federal agents to leave the city. “There’s little I can say, again, to make this situation better,” Frey said. “But I do have a message, for our community, for our city. I have a message to ICE: Get the fuck out of Minneapolis.”
Good’s mother described learning about the circumstances of her daughter’s death through reporters. “That’s so stupid,” Donna Ganger said. “She was probably terrified.” She emphasized that her daughter was not involved in confrontations with law enforcement. “Renee was one of the kindest people I’ve ever known,” Ganger said. “She was extremely compassionate. She’s taken care of people all her life. She was loving, forgiving, and affectionate. She was an amazing human being.”
The killing sparked protests across Minneapolis, where demonstrators gathered on Portland Avenue near the shooting site, outside the Hennepin County Courthouse, and in other locations throughout the city. According to the Star Tribune, protesters remained long after ICE agents left the scene, chanting as law enforcement erected metal barriers and closed several blocks. CNN reported that some protesters threw snowballs at officers, while later in the day residents held a vigil around a makeshift shrine of flowers and candles, chanting, “Say it once. Say it twice. We will not put up with ICE,” and repeating Good’s name.
Demonstrations spread beyond Minnesota, including a protest at Foley Square in Manhattan near the federal courthouse and the Department of Homeland Security’s New York City headquarters. Newly inaugurated New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani described the killing as part of a broader pattern. “The news coming out of Minneapolis is horrific. This is one part that has been a year full of cruelty, and we know that when ICE agents attack immigrants, they attack every one of us across this country,” Mamdani said. He added that New York “will always be a city that stands up for immigrants across the five boroughs,” pledging that “we are going to adhere to” local sanctuary city policies.
The incident revived comparisons to earlier disputed federal shootings. Commentators referenced the October shooting of Marimar Martinez in Chicago, where a Customs and Border Patrol agent shot Martinez multiple times while federal officials accused her of attempting to ram an agent’s vehicle. Martinez’s legal team later said federal agents rammed her car, and body camera footage contradicted the government’s account. The Department of Justice ultimately dropped charges against Martinez.
Members of Congress across the country condemned Good’s killing and called for accountability. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren said, “ICE shouldn’t be allowed to act with impunity after shooting and killing a woman in Minneapolis. This rogue agency’s escalating presence brings more and more danger to our communities. Donald Trump and ICE must be reined in by Congress and the courts before more people get hurt.”
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib said, “it is clear from that video that an ICE federal agent just shot a woman four times in cold blood. Abolish ICE now.” Tlaib later added that “an ICE agent fired multiple shots at Renee Nicole Good, murdering her at point blank range.” She also said that Rep. Ayanna Pressley had offered a subpoena in the House Oversight Committee seeking Department of Homeland Security records related to the killing and that Republicans blocked the effort.
As investigations continue, community leaders and family members have demanded transparency, accountability, and the withdrawal of federal immigration agents from Minneapolis. For Good’s family, the public debate has unfolded alongside profound personal loss. “Renee was one of the kindest people I’ve ever known,” her mother said. “She was extremely compassionate. She’s taken care of people all her life. She was loving, forgiving, and affectionate. She was an amazing human being.”
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