The United States has erupted in anger. The reason: the killing of a 37-year-old woman by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minneapolis. The incident has deepened the divide over US President Donald Trump’s deployment of federal forces to crackdown on illegal immigration.
On Wednesday, 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was shot in the head as she apparently tried to drive away from agents in the northern US city as they approached her car. The Trump administration has extended its full support to ICE — Vice President JD Vance insisted — without any proof — that Good was part of a “broader left-wing network” opposed to ICE and insisted the officer, who has now been identified as Johnathan Ross, acted in “self-defence”.
President Donald Trump and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem also noted that it was Good, who tried to run over the agent, and that the agent fired in self-defence. Noem even went further to state that Good committed an act of “domestic terrorism”.
However, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, other city officials and bystanders share another tale; they note that Good was driving away from the agents, not towards them when she was fatally shot.
But what does video footage reveal of the incident?
Killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis
It was a Wednesday morning when 37-year-old
Renee Nicole Good had dropped off her six-year-old son to school and was turning into Portland Avenue South in downtown Minneapolis, where she was confronted by agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The street, incidentally, is a few minutes away from where African-American
George Floyd was killed by police officers in 2020, sparking the #BlackLivesMatter movement.
That morning the streets already had protesters out, demonstrating against the large-scale deployment of ICE agents in Minnesota. This resulted in ICE officers pepper spraying and shoving protesters.
Here’s where ICE agents and bystanders differ. ICE and Trump officials insist that Good was shot dead by Ross, as she sought to ram her vehicle into the agents. The Department of Homeland Security wrote on X, “Attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them — an act of domestic terrorism.
“An ICE officer, fearing for his life, the lives of his fellow law enforcement and the safety of the public, fired defensive shots.
“The alleged perpetrator was hit and is deceased. The ICE officers who were hurt are expected to make full recoveries.”
JD Vance: “She was trying to ram this guy with her car, he shot back, he defended himself, he’s already been seriously wounded in law enforcement operations before. And everybody that is repeating the lie that this is some innocent woman who was out for a drive in Minneapolis,… pic.twitter.com/SV36KXIWH8
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 8, 2026
Following the fatal shooting of Good, US President Donald said the woman “violently, willfully and viciously ran over the ICE officer.” When asked whether firing into a vehicle in such circumstances was acceptable, Trump told The New York Times, “She behaved horribly. And then she ran him over. She didn’t try to run him over.”
Meanwhile, his second-in-command, Vice President JD Vance referred to Good as a “deranged leftist” who tried to run over a federal officer. Vance said the officer who killed Good “discharged his weapon in self-defence” and that “other angles of the video show the woman clearly hit the officer with her car while accelerating.”
Breaking down the visuals from Good shooting
But what do the videos reveal about the killing of Good? Did she actually run over the ICE agent?
One video taken by a bystander shows the Honda Pilot that Good was driving nearly perpendicular to the street, blocking part of a lane. With the driver’s window down, Good waves one vehicle by and appears to continue waving at a truck.
The truck’s lights are flashing and an ICE agent exits the passenger side. That agent and another agent approach Good’s vehicle. They order her to get out of the vehicle, at one point using an expletive. One agent attempts to open the driver’s side door, unsuccessfully, as Good reverses her SUV. As she reverses and turns, a third officer comes into view standing near the front driver’s side of the car. He draws his gun as Good drives forward. Three shots ring out.
🚨 Videos don’t lie.
So here is slow-motion footage shows ICE agents illegally detaining a U.S. citizen in Minneapolis… and shooting her as she tries to drive away.
Watch closely: she never drove toward an agent.
The agents attempted to aggressively force her out of her car… pic.twitter.com/RLk5Qrjbzb
— Jesus Freakin Congress (@TheJFreakinC) January 7, 2026
Another video reveals two ICE agents getting out of their car and approaching Good’s car. As one of the agent tries to open the driver’s door, the other follows. Good reverses the car and moves away from the ICE agents. It’s here that the first ICE agent comes around to the front near side of the car and draws his gun. Within moments, gunshots ring out.
When Good tries to pull away from the scene with the agents, the wheels of her car turn to the right, as per video footage. However, the ICE officer’s feet are on the left of Good’s wheels.
A 13-second video from ABC station KSTP, shot from a different angle and posted by US President Trump on Truth Social, however, shows the Honda turning and appearing to brush by the first agent. But in other videos, the agent does not appear to be in the path of the Honda.
After the shooting of Good, videos show the agents calling for 911 — the emergency helpline. Later, the Minneapolis Police Department released a statement, saying city firefighters removed Good from the vehicle and began lifesaving measures until paramedics could respond. Video posted on social media shows first responders attempting to give CPR.
She is then transported to Hennepin County Medical Center, where she later died.
Anger and furore over Good’s killing
The killing of Good at the hands of ICE agent, Johnathan Ross, has resulted in an outpouring of anger and disdain at the Trump administration. Snap protests were held across cities and towns on Wednesday evening.
Many eyewitnesses have debunked the claims and attempts by the Trump administration to vilify Good after the shooting. Emily Heller, who lives on the street where the shooting unfolded, told CNN that Good “was totally peaceful” before the agents began yelling at her to move and “aggressively” approached her vehicle.
An ICE agent then tried to open her car door as another stood nearby. “She reversed a little bit,” Heller said, and then turned her wheels to begin pulling away. “An ICE agent stepped in front of her vehicle and said, ‘Stop!’ and then — I mean, she was already moving — and then, point blank, shot her through her windshield in the face,” Heller said.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey in an opinion piece published in the New York Times rubbished claims made by Trump and his officials on the shooting. Titled ‘I’m the Mayor of Minneapolis. Trump Is Lying to You’, Frey writes, “The actions of the ICE agents deployed to my city are dangerous, and now, even deadly. But that danger has been compounded by the administration’s incredulous claims that the victim committed an act of domestic terrorism.”
He further wrote in the article, “The Trump administration’s false narrative about this week’s shooting, and the demonisation of the victim, are only part of a bigger lie. It wants the American public to believe that ICE’s heavily militarised crackdown across this country is an effort to keep cities like Minneapolis safe. It is not. It is about vilifying not just immigrants, but all who welcome them and their contributions to our communities. By defending the lie about this clearly avoidable shooting in Minneapolis and refusing to allow Minnesota officials to investigate the crime, the administration is sending a message to the entire country: If you show up for your immigrant neighbours, or even are simply present when those neighbours are taken, your rights will not be protected by the law and your life will be at risk.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz also decried the shooting as “totally predictable” and “totally avoidable”.
US Congresswoman
Ilhan Omar also accused the Trump administration of spreading false information, and said she was “beyond outraged” by ICE’s “reckless, callous actions”. “You’re lying. There was no attempt to run the officer over and no ICE agents appear to be hurt,” she wrote on X. “Get out of our city.”
While the shooting has furthered the fight between the Democrats and the Trump administration, one shouldn’t forget that a family has lost their loved one.
With inputs from agencies
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