Thousands gather to mourn Renee Good, Minneapolis woman shot and killed by ICE agent
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Just hours after Renee Nicole Good was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis on Wednesday morning, thousands gathered to remember her.
Good, 37, was behind the wheel of a parked Honda Pilot near the corner of 34th Street and Portland Avenue South, when an ICE officer yelled at her, “Get out of the car. Get the f— out of the car.” Moments later, as she appeared to be driving away, another ICE officer fired into the vehicle, not far from the front bumper.
Good died soon after.
Her death quickly became the focus of controversy. ICE called the shooting an act of self-defense, alleging Good had attempted to run over agents with her car. But Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey disputed that.
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Frey said he’d seen video of the confrontation and said, “That is bull—. This was an agent recklessly using power … that resulted in someone dying, getting killed. The narrative that this was done in self-defense is a garbage narrative.”
At the vigil, several mourners held signs that read “ICE out of our classrooms and community.” Some held candles. While the mood was solemn, there was anger among some Minneapolis residents.
A makeshift memorial was made consisting of a small, wooden cross, white flowers and candles. Propped up against a tree was a white sign with a blue butterfly and the word, “Remember.”
One speaker quoted Frey instructions to ICE: “Get the f— out of Minneapolis.” That prompted cheers from many in the crowd.
Civil rights lawyer Nekima Levy Armstrong was one of many speakers who paid tribute to Good.
“When I think about Renee, all I can do is salute [her],” she said. “She’s a warrior, as far as I’m concerned. She did not deserve to be gunned down in cold blood for standing up for her neighbor.”
She said the community was dealing with “evil and diabolical behavior” and said that the presidential administration was not “legitimate.”
Sara Avila was among the attendees. “It’s a travesty what just happened,” she said.
Avila said it was difficult to believe the killing happened so close to home. She added that as the oldest daughter in an immigrant family, she has seen firsthand the toll the recent stepped-up ICE enforcement has taken on people she knows.
“People are scared, too, to show up for their kids, to go out, because they are scared they are going to be taken and might not be coming home,” she said.
Another attendee, Abdul Karim, said he wanted to attend the vigil for Good because when she died on Wednesday, she was standing up for people like him.
“The lady who lost her life was in part defending my community,” said Karim, who is Somali American and was born in Minneapolis. “So I came here to pay my condolences.”
