Neighbors in south Minneapolis say a routine morning turned deadly when an ICE enforcement operation ended with a 37-year-old driver, identified as Renee Nicole Good, fatally shot. Multiple witnesses and video reviewed by reporters show officers approaching the SUV, grappling with the driver-side door, and a third officer firing through the windshield as the vehicle moved. Federal and local officials offered conflicting accounts: DHS characterized the vehicle as a threat, while city and state leaders condemned the federal tactics. Protests erupted nearby and a candlelight vigil drew hundreds that evening.
South Minneapolis Morning Turns to Horror: ICE Agent Fatally Shoots Driver, Neighbors Say
Members of law enforcement work at the scene following a shooting by an ICE agent during federal law enforcement operations in Minneapolis on Wednesday. - Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
A quiet morning in south Minneapolis erupted into chaos Wednesday when neighbors on Portland Avenue ran outside after hearing commotion and gunfire during a confrontation between federal immigration agents and a vehicle.
Victim: Witnesses identified the woman who was killed as 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good. Neighbors said she was a U.S. citizen and a mother of three.
Eyewitness Accounts
Emily Heller told reporters she was making breakfast when she heard whistles — a neighborhood signal that federal agents were nearby — and the sound of agents arguing with protesters. Heller ran outside without putting on shoes and saw a convoy of ICE agents confronting an SUV that appeared to be blocking their path.
"She was totally peaceful," Heller said, describing the driver before the confrontation escalated.
According to Heller, one agent attempted to open the driver-side door while another stood nearby. The driver reversed slightly, then began to pull forward. Heller said an agent stepped in front of the vehicle, shouted "Stop!" and then fired at point-blank range through the windshield, striking the driver.
Neighbor Trevor Heitkamp said he heard the disturbance and saw agents shouting at the driver. Heitkamp said the car backed up slowly, then moved forward; he then heard "four, possibly five" shots. Tyrice Jones, who witnessed a crash from an upstairs apartment, said the SUV struck a streetlight and that a woman identifying herself as the victim's spouse was covered in blood and crying in the snowy yard.
Video And Conflicting Narratives
Reporters reviewed three videos taken at the scene that show two federal officers exiting a truck and approaching the SUV. In the footage, officers repeatedly tell the driver to "Get out of the car." One officer appears to pull on the driver-side door while another moves toward the front of the vehicle. The SUV reverses, then moves forward; at that moment a third officer draws a pistol, steps away from the front of the vehicle and fires.
People gather at a vigil at the site where Renee Good was shot and killed by an immigration officer earlier in the day. - Kerem Yucel/AFP/Getty Images
Federal and local officials offered sharply different accounts. A Department of Homeland Security statement said officers faced efforts to impede their work and alleged the driver attempted to "weaponize her vehicle," describing the shooting as an action to protect officers' lives. City and state leaders rejected that account and criticized the federal operation.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called the account of events "unacceptable," accusing an agent of recklessly using deadly force. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said he had warned that large-scale federal enforcement operations posed risks to public safety. The dispute intensified protests in the neighborhood.
Protests, Vigil And Local Reaction
Protests quickly formed near the scene, less than a mile from the intersection where George Floyd was killed in 2020 — a site that remains a flashpoint in national discussions about police use of force and anti-Black racism. Demonstrators hurled snowballs at federal officers and Minneapolis police as anger and grief spread.
By evening an uneasy calm settled on the block. Hundreds of candles illuminated the snow as mourners lined a city block to lay flowers and hold a vigil in freezing temperatures.
Context: The Department of Homeland Security had announced the deployment of roughly 2,000 federal agents to Minneapolis as part of an enforcement campaign tied to an alleged fraud scheme involving Somali-run childcare centers in the state. Local leaders warned the operation could inflame tensions.
Reported personal details: The Associated Press reported that Good was a U.S. citizen and a mother of three. Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan said stuffed animals were in the car when the shooting occurred.
The incident remains under investigation. Local and federal authorities have provided competing statements; video evidence and multiple eyewitness accounts have been cited by reporters covering the scene.
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