On January 7, 2026, Renée Nicole Macklin Good, a 37-year-old woman and US citizen, was fatally shot by a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Good was idling in a car at the scene of an ongoing ICE operation, when she was approached by ICE agents who reportedly gave conflicting orders, according to one eyewitness. As Good began to leave the scene, she was shot in the head. Federal officials and President Donald Trump defended the shooting, claiming the agent acted in self-defense and that Good had attempted to run him over. These claims have been contested by eyewitnesses and by journalists' analysis of video footage. The characterization of the shooting as justified has been disputed by local figures and by Democratic Party lawmakers, the latter of whom have called for a criminal investigation. Thousands of people have protested in Minneapolis, and more have protested in cities including Chicago, New York, and Washington, D.C. Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota governor Tim Walz called on the federal government to end their presence in the city. The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued statements saying that the agent was injured but is expected to recover; The Guardian reported that there was "no visible sign in the videos of ICE officers being injured", and The New York Times reported that bystander videos did not support the DHS statement. == Background == 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". An eyewitness to the shooting said, "People in our neighborhood have been terrorized by ICE for six weeks". The killing of Good was the ninth time that ICE agents had opened fire on people since September 2025. Four other people have been killed during federal deportation operations. === Renée Good === Renée Nicole Macklin Good was a 37-year-old US citizen. She was a poet and writer from Colorado Springs, Colorado, who lived in Minneapolis with her wife and six-year-old child. 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. Good had been married twice before. She and her first husband had two children; she and her second husband had a single child. Her second husband died in 2023 at the age of 36. Good was described by CNN as a "devoted Christian." DHS Security Secretary Kristi Noem alleged that Good had been "stalking and impeding" ICE all day. Several Minnesota state officials claimed Good was acting as a legal observer of ICE's activities at the time of the incident, but Good's ex-husband said that Good was only on her way home after dropping her son off at school. Her mother said that Good was not involved with the protests challenging the ICE activities. === Shooter === The day after the shooting, the Minnesota Star Tribune identified the ICE agent involved. The Star Tribune reported that court documents show the agent has been with ICE since at least 2016 and had previously been dragged and injured by a vehicle in a separate incident in 2025 in which he smashed the rear window of the vehicle and reached in to try to unlock the door. == Incident == 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. According to witnesses, four ICE agents from two vehicles approached a maroon Honda Pilot that was blocking one lane of the avenue. Videos of the incident showed two agents approaching the car, which had been stopped sideways in the road for about three minutes. The driver repeatedly waved for ICE vehicles to pass by her, when two agents exited their vehicle and ordered her to exit her car. Eyewitnesses and videos show that ICE agents were giving conflicting orders to the driver. One agent told the driver to drive away from the scene, while another shouted at the driver to get out of the car. Based on three recordings of the incident shared online, two agents walked to Good's car. Someone was heard on video recordings saying "get out of the fucking car". One agent attempted to open the door of the car and reached through the window. As another agent held the side door, the driver reversed briefly and then moved forward while turning the steering wheel, apparently to maneuver away from the two agents and exit the area. The car then began to drive forward, and was steering away from a third agent in front, who fired three shots into the car. The agent who fired shots was not in the vehicle's path when he discharged his weapon. It is unclear whether the vehicle ever came into contact with the shooter; separate analyses of the video footage by The Washington Post and BBC were inconclusive, while an analysis by The New York Times concluded the agent was not struck. After the shooting, the car continued several feet down the street until it crashed into a parked car and light pole. The shooter surveilled the car on foot after the gunfire, circled it, and walked about the area for over a minute after discharging his firearm. The shooter told other agents to "call 911", then got into an ICE vehicle and drove away before local police or emergency medical personnel arrived on-scene. 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." DHS Secretary Kristi Noem alleged that the ICE agent who fired the shots was treated at a hospital for being "hit by the vehicle" and was later released. ICE agents prevented multiple bystanders, including one who identified himself as a physician, from providing medical aid to the driver. No medical aid was provided for about 15 minutes and when medical first responders arrived, their vehicles could not access the site because of the ICE vehicles and they had to proceed on foot to the driver. Good was pronounced dead after being admitted to Hennepin County Medical Center for multiple gunshot wounds to her head. == Reactions == === Federal === DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said that an ICE officer "fearing for his life" had shot the woman in self-defense after she allegedly attempted to run them over in what McLaughlin described as "an act of domestic terrorism". DHS reported that several officers 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. 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". He went on to say that he found it "hard to believe [the agent] is alive, but is now recovering in the hospital". The ICE officer in question remained on his feet throughout the entirety of the incident. 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.". Vice President J.D. Vance called Good's death "a tragedy of her own making" and called her "a victim of left-wing ideology". 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." The day after, Noem announced Operation Salvo, which would increase ICE presence in New York City. 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. 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. By January 8, 2026, ICE was still conducting raids in the Minneapolis, extending south into neighboring Richfield. === Local officials === 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". Walz announced that he was ordering the state's National Guard to adopt a state of preparedness. 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". The Minneapolis Police Department activated mutual aid from surrounding jurisdictions and bolstered local law enforcement resources as a response to any potential civil unrest in the coming days, despite not having credible claims that violent unrest would occur. == Aftermath == Minneapolis Public Schools 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. Staff members at the high school said that armed ICE officers had handcuffed two members of the staff. === Investigation === On January 8, the head of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said 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. Minnesota's Public Safety Commissioner said "it would be it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible" for local investigation to continue "without cooperation from the federal government". Minneapolis's chief county prosecutor Mary Moriarty said her office was "exploring all options to ensure a state level investigation can continue". === Protests === 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. Good's killing drew a crowd of hundreds of protestors to the location. Federal law enforcement fired tear gas and pepper spray in Minneapolis, and some protestors threw snowballs. At a press conference, Governor Walz announced he had begun preparing the Minnesota National Guard. By the evening, the crowd at the location where Good was killed grew to thousands, including members of the Minneapolis City Council. Protestors also gathered in several other cities, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Colorado Springs, Columbia (South Carolina), Columbus (Ohio), Detroit, Duluth, Eugene (Oregon), Grand Rapids, Miami, New York, Oakland, Portland (Oregon), Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Richmond, Seattle, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. More protests took place the next day (8 Jan) in Buffalo, Chapel Hill, Durham, Kansas City (MO) and Upper Darby (Pennsylvania). The morning after the shooting, a crowd of people barricaded the street in Minneapolis where Good was killed to hold a vigil in her memory. == Analysis == The Economist noted that previous DHS self-defense assertions in cases of seemingly excessive force "have been repeatedly debunked", with evidence in federal court showing that "Border Patrol agents involved in such confrontations" in Chicago the previous year "lied under oath and exaggerated the threat from protesters in order to justify their aggression." === Witness accounts === 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". 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." Analysis of video footage by The New York Times corroborates that Good was driving away from the agent. 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." 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." == Notes == == See also == 2025 Camarillo, California ICE raid – Immigration enforcement raid on a farm 2025 United States protests against mass deportation Deaths, detentions and deportations of American citizens in the second Trump administration Killing of Silverio Villegas González Lists of killings by law enforcement officers in the United States List of killings by law enforcement officers in the United States, January 2026 List of killings by law enforcement officers in Minnesota == References == == External links == Media related to Killing of Renee Good at Wikimedia Commons