A week in photos: Renee Good’s killing sparks grief and pushback in Minneapolis
The fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Macklin Good by ICE agent Jonathan Ross led to an outpouring of grief across the city and a tug-of-war between local and federal officials over the investigation.
The Assata Shakur chant, written on heart shaped signs seen on January 8, 2026, marks the spot where Minneapolis firefighters attempted to render aid to Renee Nicole Macklin Good after she was shot and killed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross the previous day. Credit: Aaron Nesheim | Sahan Journal
Day 1: 9:45 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Jonathan Ross fatally shot Renee Nicole Good on Portland Avenue near E. 34th Street in south Minneapolis around 9:37 a.m. when federal agents walked up to the door of a maroon SUV stopped in the middle of the street and attempted to pull the driver out of the vehicle.
According to video captured at the scene, a federal officer pulled on the SUV’s door handle, and when the car started to pull away, a second federal officer fired shots into the vehicle.
9:43 a.m.: A man claiming to be a physician confronts federal agents, begging to help render aid, 6 minutes after ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Nicole Macklin Good in south Minneapolis on Jan. 7, 2026. Credit: Aaron Nesheim | Sahan Journal9:44 a.m.: Good is pulled from her crashed vehicle by Minneapolis firefighters, roughly 7 minutes after being being shot by Ross. Credit: Aaron Nesheim | Sahan Journal10:20 a.m.: Customs and Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino arrives at the scene of the killing, approaching the police line to stare at the crowd of residents protesting. Credit: Aaron Nesheim | Sahan Journal10:20 a.m.: A Border Patrol officer screams “I’ll do it, b***h” as he aims a 40mm launcher at a protester’s face at point-blank range. Bystander video of the moment appears to show him fumbling with the trigger before stepping back without firing. Credit: Aaron Nesheim | Sahan Journal10:58 a.m.: Minneapolis Police officers push back the steadily growing crowd of protesters to clear space on Portland Avenue as federal agents leave the scene of the killing. Credit: Aaron Nesheim | Sahan Journal11:05 a.m.: An agent pepper-sprays protesters blocking the alleyway between Portland and 5th avenues as the remaining federal agents attempt to leave the scene. Credit: Aaron Nesheim | Sahan Journal1:04 p.m.: Residents gathered at the scene raise their fists in the air at the request of local activist Jay Webb, speaking to the crowd on a megaphone. Investigators with local and federal agencies were still canvassing the scene for evidence. Credit: Aaron Nesheim | Sahan Journal
Gov. Tim Walz and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speak out
Walz and Noem held separate news conferences addressing the shooting. Walz expressed anger at the federal government, while Noem said Good tried to run over the officer in an act of domestic terrorism.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a press conference at the Bishop Henry Whipple building on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, hours after an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Nicole Macklin Good in Minneapolis. U.S. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino is pictured at the far right. Credit: Chris Juhn for Sahan JournalGov. Tim Walz speaks at a press conference on Jan. 7, 2026, about an ICE agent fatally shooting Good in south Minneapolis earlier that day. Credit: Dymanh Chhoun | Sahan Journal
5 p.m.: Thousands gather for vigil at site of shooting
Thousands of mourners filled a south Minneapolis block on Wednesday night during a vigil following the fatal shooting. Attendees chanted, “Renee Good!” and “Lock Him Up!” referring to the federal agent who shot Good. Some blew whistles, held candles and played musical instruments. Others placed flowers and lit candles at the spot where Good’s vehicle crashed after she was shot.
More than a thousand people gathered Wednesday, Jan. 7, for a vigil at the site in south Minneapolis where a woman was fatally shot by an ICE agent earlier in the day. Mourners packed a block of Portland Avenue near E. 34th Street, chanting the name of Renee Good, who was shot while trying to drive away from ICE agents surrounding her SUV. A second person in the vehicle was also injured. The vigil organized by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) began at 5 p.m. and stretched into the night as a group broke off to march towards downtown Minneapolis. #icemn#fatalshooting#minneapolis
A memorial on Portland Avenue in south Minneapolis on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, at the site where Renee Nicole Macklin Good was slain by an ICE agent earlier in the day.The crowd that gathered Wednesday night for a vigil following Renee Good’s shooting filled an entire city block. Credit: Aaron Nesheim | Sahan JournalMany in the crowd said Good was an observer, trying to protect immigrants and did not pose a threat to federal agents. And they called on elected officials to prosecute her shooter. Credit: Aaron Nesheim | Sahan JournalMourners lit candles at the vigil on Wednesday night. Credit: Aaron Nesheim | Sahan Journal
Federal law enforcement announced they would “solely” lead the investigation into an immigration agent’s fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Macklin Good in Minneapolis, and not work with Minnesota agencies, a move that will limit state prosecutors’ ability to potentially charge the shooter.
Gov. Tim Walz at a press conference on Jan. 8, 2026, addressing the federal government’s decision to investigate the fatal ICE shooting of Renee Nicole Macklin Good without help from state agencies. Credit: Dymanh Chhoun | Sahan JournalWalz held the press conference at the State Emergency Operations Center. Credit: Dymanh Chhoun | Sahan Journal
Hours after the fatal shooting of Nicole Good, several Border Patrol SUVs trailing a truck ended their pursuit near Roosevelt High School in south Minneapolis shortly after school let out. More than 100 students, teachers and neighborhood observers converged on the scene, leading to a face-off between agents and the crowd that led to the arrest of a special education assistant.
“I saw a very chaotic scene,” social students teacher Joelle Stangler said. “Dozens of staff from our building attempting to position themselves between students and agents, students screaming and sobbing, dozens of people recording, blowing whistles.” The agents, from her perspective, “were continuing to escalate the situation and shouting at students, threatening students.”
While standing on school grounds, agents fired chemical weapons on a crowd that included dozens of students.
Out of concern for student safety, Minneapolis Public Schools canceled classes for Thursday, Jan. 8, and Friday, Jan. 9.
U.S. Border Patrol agents detain a person on the ground near Roosevelt High School during dismissal time on Wednesday, Jan. 7, in Minneapolis. Credit: Kerem Yücel | MPR NewsFederal agents face off with students, staff and protesters near Roosevelt High School after chasing someone near the school. Credit: Kerem Yücel | MPR NewsBorder Patrol Commander Greg Bovino argues with protesters near Roosevelt High after federal agents made an arrest near the school. Credit: Kerem Yücel | MPR News
After federal agencies reportedly first agreed to work with state officials, then backed out, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced an independent investigation into the fatal ICE shooting of Good.
Separately, Minneapolis elected officials on Friday called for an independent investigation of the killing after federal law enforcement blocked state agencies from access to case evidence.
In the hours after Renee Nicole Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent in south Minneapolis on Wednesday, Jan. 7, a crowd of about 200 protesters confronted federal agents and Minneapolis Police officers at the scene and called on ICE to leave. “This should never have happened,” said state Rep. Mohamud Noor, DFL-Minneapolis. By Dymanh Chhoun #minneapolis#ICE#ReneeGood#immigration#twincities#minnesota
In the early morning of Friday, Jan. 9, neighbors watched as Minneapolis police officers and city workers loaded wooden crates and pallets used as barricades surrounding the memorial of Renee Good into dump trucks. Firefighters were also on scene, extinguishing fires burning in barrels, a witness said.
City officials said the barricades blocking off Portland Avenue posed safety concerns.
Protesters blocked off Portland Ave with barricades on Jan. 8, 2026, the day after Renee Good was fatally shot. At 3:40 a.m. the next morning, Minneapolis Police left the Fifth Precinct headquarters to remove the barricades, demolishing most of it. Credit: Aaron Nesheim | Sahan JournalProtesters blocked off Portland Avenue with barricades on Jan. 8, 2026. They were removed early the next morning, during a window when the barricades had been left unattended. Credit: Aaron Nesheim | Sahan JournalThe memorial on the spot where Renee Good’s vehicle crashed after being shot and killed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross continued to grow on Jan. 8, 2026. Credit: Aaron Nesheim | Sahan Journal
A surprise visit by U.S. Reps. Kelly Morrison, Ilhan Omar and Angie Craig to the immigration detention center at Fort Snelling ended abruptly on Saturday morning, when Department of Homeland Security employees told them to leave.
U.S. Reps. Kelly Morrison, Ilhan Omar and Angie Craig walk towards the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building at Fort Snelling to visit ICE detainees on Jan. 10, 2026. Credit: Alberto Villafan | Sahan JournalA line of ICE agents corrals protestors and journalists onto a sidewalk outside at the Whipple Building. Credit: Alberto Villafan | Sahan JournalU.S. Reps. Kelly Morrison, Ilhan Omar and Angie Craig hold a brief press conference after being denied entry to visit ICE detainees. Credit: Alberto Villafan | Sahan JournalA protestor holds bologna as vehicles holding ICE agents pass him by in front of the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building at Fort Snelling on Jan. 10, 2026. Credit: Alberto Villafan | Sahan Journal
MIRAC hosts march to demand ICE out of Twin Cities, honor Renee Good
At around 1 p.m., tens of thousands took to the streets of south Minneapolis to demand ICE leave Minnesota immediately. Organized by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, protestors called for Minneapolis political leaders to “uphold the separation ordinance” as they marched around the Powderhorn neighborhood.
Jaylani Hussein of CAIR-MN speaks during a rally on Jan. 10, 2026, against continued immigration raids in the Twin Cities, and in the wake of the death of Renee Good, who was shot and killed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross. Credit: Aaron Nesheim | Sahan JournalThousands march through the streets of south Minneapolis, as they rally against Operation Metro Surge and the killing of Renee Good. Credit: Aaron Nesheim | Sahan JournalProtesters marched down Portland Avenue to the place where Renee Good was killed three days earlier. Credit: Aaron Nesheim | Sahan JournalA giant bear puppet joined the march from Powderhorn Park during a large rally against Operation Metro Surge. Credit: Aaron Nesheim | Sahan Journal
Alberto Villafan is the digital producer at Sahan Journal. He joined Sahan Journal in May 2024. Alberto graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2023 with a bachelor's degree in journalism and cultural...
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