At a Glance
- Renee Nicole Good, 37, was shot and killed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross on Jan. 7 after dropping her 6-year-old at school.
- Ross fired through Good’s windshield when she tried to drive away; she crashed and died at the scene.
- Good’s wife Becca said they only stopped to support neighbors: “We had whistles. They had guns.”
- No charges have been filed; the FBI has taken over the investigation, denying Minnesota jurisdiction.
Why it matters: The killing has ignited protests and questions about federal use-of-force during immigration sweeps in U.S. cities.
A routine school drop-off ended with a fatal bullet on the morning of Jan. 7 in Minneapolis. Renee Nicole Good, a mother of three, was behind the wheel of her maroon Honda Pilot when an ICE agent opened fire, killing her steps from where neighbors were protesting a sweeping federal operation.
A 30-Second Encounter
Good, 37, had just delivered her 6-year-old son to school and agreed to a small detour with wife Becca, 40, so they could show support for residents facing a sudden influx of armed agents. At 9:38 a.m., while driving on Portland Ave., Good encountered federal officers. Agent Jonathan Ross, a firearms instructor assigned to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, moved to open the driver-side door and shouted, “Get out of the f–king car,” according to witnesses.
Good reversed, then pulled forward. Ross fired through the windshield. The SUV accelerated, slammed into a parked car, and stopped. Three gunshots were heard by Lynette Reini-Grandell, who recalled people screaming, “You killed her!”
Chaos and 911 Calls
Frantic calls flooded 911 for nearly an hour.
- “There’s 15 ICE agents, and they shot her … because she wouldn’t open her car door,” one caller said.
- Another told dispatch, “She tried to drive away, but crashed … blood all over the driver.”
- A third pleaded, “Send an ambulance please. Ambulance, please.”
Paramedics reached Good at 9:42 a.m. and found her slumped, unresponsive, with blood on face and torso. Inside the cabin, stuffed animals sat in the glove box and the white airbag was soaked red. Police photos show four apparent wounds: two to the right chest, one to the left forearm, one to the left head. Blood ran from her ear and her pupils were fixed and dilated.
Officers removed her roughly 25 minutes later. Resuscitation attempts continued until after 10 a.m., then ceased en route to hospital.
Family Left Behind
Becca stood in a neighbor’s yard, drenched in her wife’s blood, asking only for someone to retrieve their dog from the back seat. On Jan. 9 she released a short statement: “We stopped to support our neighbors. We had whistles. They had guns.”
Good’s parents and four siblings described her as “a beautiful light … relentlessly hopeful and optimistic.” She leaves behind three children and a community now holding vigils at the intersection where she died.
The Agent and the Aftermath
Ross, hired by ICE in 2015, remained at the scene about 15 minutes, then was escorted to a federal building. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told News Of Los Angeles on Jan. 14 that Ross later went to hospital with internal torso bleeding but provided no further details. He has not been charged.
Former Salt Lake City police chief Chris Burbank questioned the shooting, telling News Of Los Angeles deadly force requires “immediate danger,” which he does not believe Good presented.
Federal officials say only the FBI has jurisdiction; Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has demanded “a fair, transparent investigation.” Protests continue nightly at the growing street memorial, while Becca faces raising their son alone, vowing to teach him, as Renee believed, “there are people building a better world for him.”
