On a frigid Wednesday morning in Minneapolis, just blocks from the intersection where George Floyd’s murder ignited a worldwide reckoning, another fatal encounter between law enforcement and a civilian has thrown the city—and the nation—into turmoil. Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident, was shot and killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer during an immigration enforcement operation on January 7, 2026. The incident, which unfolded on a residential street in south Minneapolis, has triggered protests, prompted a National Guard warning order, and deepened the rift between federal authorities and local officials.
According to NPR and ABC News, the events began when ICE agents were conducting targeted immigration enforcement in the area. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin stated that Good was “attempting to run over our law enforcement officers” with her vehicle, which led an ICE officer to fatally shoot her. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem described the incident as “an act of domestic terrorism,” insisting the use of deadly force was justified. “Deadly force is perfectly lawful when a threat is faced by a weapon,” Noem said at a press briefing. She emphasized that the officer “used his training and saved his own life and that of his fellow officers.”
Yet, the official narrative has been fiercely contested by Minneapolis leaders and eyewitnesses. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who viewed video footage of the incident, flatly rejected the self-defense claim. “This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying—getting killed,” Frey declared in an impassioned news conference, according to NPR. “ICE is trying to spin this as an action of self-defense. Having seen the video myself, I want to tell everybody that is bull***.” He went further, calling on ICE agents to “get the f--- out” of Minneapolis, accusing federal authorities of sowing chaos and ripping families apart.
The videos reviewed by NPR show a chaotic scene: multiple officers surround an SUV stopped in the middle of the road. One officer demands that the driver exit and reaches for the door handle. The vehicle then reverses, before moving forward—at which point another officer steps in front, draws his weapon, and fires three shots into the windshield as he backs away. Seconds later, the SUV crashes into the side of the road. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara confirmed that officers arrived to find Good with a gunshot wound to the head. CPR was performed at the scene before she was transported to Hennepin County Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
Preliminary police information, as reported by both ABC News and NPR, indicated that Good was in her car blocking the road when a federal officer approached her on foot. As the vehicle began to drive off, at least two shots were fired, and the car crashed. O’Hara, visibly troubled at a press conference, said, “In any professional law enforcement agency in the country, I think they would tell you it’s obviously very concerning whenever there’s a shooting into a vehicle of someone who’s not armed.” He added that while deadly force can be justified, most agencies are trained to minimize its use, especially in such fraught situations.
Community members and eyewitnesses painted a tense backdrop leading up to the shooting. Caitlin Callenson, a local resident, told MPR News that ICE vehicles had been stuck in a snowbank, drawing a crowd of neighbors who had grown wary after weeks of aggressive immigration enforcement. “People in our neighborhood have been terrorized by ICE for six weeks. We want our neighbors safe, and so when we see a group of ICE vehicles, people in the community are showing up and saying, ‘This is not OK,’” she said. According to Callenson, ICE agents gave conflicting commands to Good—one ordered her to drive away, while another yelled for her to get out of the car. The confusion ended with gunfire.
Renee Nicole Good, described by the Minneapolis City Council as “a resident of our city who was out caring for her neighbors,” leaves behind a child and a grieving family. Her social media presence, cited by the Star Tribune, painted a portrait of a poet, writer, wife, and mother who had moved to Minneapolis from Colorado. Colorado Democratic Party Chair Shad Murib issued a scathing statement: “Renee was brutally killed in her vehicle by an ICE agent, leaving behind a child. Her killing is inexcusable and the direct result of an agency that, under Donald Trump, has become an unrestrained paramilitary force: increasingly aggressive, hostile, unaccountable and detached from basic standards of public safety.”
The shooting has reignited debate over the role of federal immigration authorities in Minneapolis—a city that has long prided itself on welcoming immigrants and resisting federal crackdowns. The incident comes amid a massive deployment of ICE and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents to the Twin Cities. ABC News reported that as many as 2,000 agents could be involved in the current enforcement surge, with 600 HSI and 1,400 ICE agents reportedly being deployed. The Trump administration has recently focused on alleged fraud at Somali-run childcare centers, intensifying scrutiny and enforcement in the area.
President Donald Trump weighed in on social media, supporting the ICE officer’s actions. “The woman driving the car was 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,” Trump posted. DHS echoed this, stating the officer fired “defensive shots.”
In the immediate aftermath, protests erupted at the scene and across Minneapolis. Law enforcement responded with crowd control measures, including tear gas and pepper spray, as demonstrators voiced their outrage and demanded accountability. Some protesters threw snowballs at officers, while others held signs reading “shame.” Governor Tim Walz, speaking at a press conference, acknowledged the community’s anger and announced that he had issued a “warning order” to prepare the Minnesota National Guard. “We have someone dead in their car for no reason whatsoever,” Walz said, calling the shooting “preventable” and “unnecessary.” He urged residents to protest peacefully: “They want a show. We can’t give it to them.”
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, in conjunction with the FBI, has launched an investigation into the shooting. Commissioner Bob Jacobson stressed, “Keep in mind that this is an investigation that is also in its infancy, so any speculation about what had happened would be just that, and we will not engage in speculation.” Walz promised a “full, fair, and expeditious investigation to ensure accountability and justice.”
As Minneapolis braces for further demonstrations, the city stands at a crossroads—grappling with questions of justice, accountability, and the limits of federal power on its streets. The investigation’s outcome will almost certainly shape the next chapter in a city—and a nation—still haunted by the memory of lives lost and the struggle for change.
