Family member says Renee Nicole Good 'should have minded her own business' in Minneapolis ICE shooting
SOURCE:Daily Mail
Renee Nicole Good, 37, was fatally shot in the head while inside her SUV on Wednesday, sparking mass protests in the streets and outrage from Minnesota lawmakers.
The former brother-in-law of a mother shot dead by an ICE agent during immigration operations in Minneapolis has argued she 'should have minded her own business'.
Renee Nicole Good, 37, was fatally shot in the head while inside her SUV on Wednesday, sparking mass protests in the streets and outrage from Minnesota lawmakers.
President Donald Trump and the Department of Homeland Security have defended the agent at the center of the violence, arguing he feared for his life because Good appeared to be accelerating her car in his direction.
Now, Good's former brother-in-law Joseph Macklin has weighed in on the tragedy, telling the Daily Mail on Wednesday night she put herself in a dangerous situation without reason.
'She had no reason to be there, in my opinion,' he said.
'It had nothing to do with her. She shouldn't have been in the way. She had nothing to do with the ICE agents or immigration, so she shouldn't have been there. She should have minded her own business.'
Joseph said Good had three children, including a six-year-old son she shared with his Air Force veteran brother, Tim Macklin Jr, who tragically died in 2023.
Her older two children from a previous relationship are in the custody of their father, Joseph said.
Renee Nicole Good, pictured, has been named as the woman shot dead by ICE in Minneapolis on Wednesday
The remains of the SUV with a bloodied airbag after the woman was rushed to hospital
Border Patrol agents used chemical irritants to disperse a crowd trying to prevent them from leaving the scene after Good was shot
Good had three children, including a six-year-old son she shared with her Air Force veteran husband, Tim Macklin Jr (pictured), who tragically died in 2023
Macklin's father and Good's one-time father-in-law, Timmy Ray Macklin Sr., told The Telegraph that her death constituted murder.
'It is horrible, it's murder. Everybody is terribly shocked right now,' he said.
'She was a good, outgoing person. I didn't agree with a lot of her ways, but it's really sad to see these things happen.'
Now, his focus is on his orphaned grandson, noting: 'There's nobody else in his life. I'll drive. I'll fly. To come and get my grandchild.'
Macklin Sr. said Good would bring his grandson to visit the family several times each year, adding his 'main concern right now is getting my grandchild'.
Both Joseph and his father said they were shocked when they learned of the tragedy on Wednesday evening.
Joseph described Good as an outspoken liberal, but challenged the Trump administration's narrative that she was attempting to hit the agent with her car.
'I just watched the video and was pretty astonished that the agent definitely wasn't in the right,' Joseph said.
Renee Nicole Good is pictured left with her sister and mother Donna Ganger
Her car was towed away from the scene after the shooting on Wednesday
Mourners gathered for a vigil on Wednesday night
'She did just drive off but he wasn't in front of her. It ain't like she tried to run him over, from the video I've seen. She was just trying to get away, it looked like.'
He said he thought Good was visiting family in Kansas City at the time of the shooting. Instead, she found herself in the thick of a protest against ICE's crackdown in Minneapolis.
'She was very open about her opinions and politics, leaning to the left,' he said.
‘I wish she would’ve minded her business and stayed out the way,’ he continued. ‘I know families are being broken apart and I know she was trying to help, and it’s heart breaking. But now it’s our family, and now her kids don’t have a mom… and one of them has lost both mom and dad.
'She was a great and loving mother,’ he added. 'And even after my brother Timmy died she always kept us included with Emerson and always brought him to see us. She was so kind hearted and she cared about everyone.
‘She was a good mother and a good person, and she didn’t deserve this.'
The mother-of-three was named by her mother Donna Ganger, who spoke to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune on Wednesday afternoon.
'She was probably terrified,' Ganger said.
The grieving mom denied reports Good would have been 'part of anything like' the protests against ICE that were taking place at the location where she was killed.
'That's so stupid,' she said. 'Renee was one of the kindest people I've ever known.
'She was extremely compassionate. She's taken care of people all her life. She was loving, forgiving and affectionate. She was an amazing human being.'
A woman claiming to be Good's wife seemed to blame herself for the tragedy, saying she 'made her come down here' to the ICE protests
Protesters clash with police after a driver of a vehicle was shot on Wednesday amid an immigration enforcement surge in Minneapolis
Photos of the woman's car showed children's toys inside
After Macklin's death in 2023, Good struck up a relationship with a woman, who has not yet been publicly identified but witnessed Wednesday's events as they unfolded.
Gutwrenching vision from the scene captured the moment Good's partner, who described herself as her wife, broke down in sobs as she blamed herself for the death.
'I made her come down here, it’s my fault,' she could be heard saying at one point, through tears. 'They just shot my wife.'
'That's my wife, I don't know what to do. I have a six-year-old at school... we're new here, we don't have anyone.'
Photos of the woman's car in the aftermath showed children's toys inside, including a plush animal and a child's drawing.
Good was a poet and mother of three children who grew up in Colorado Springs.
Bullet holes in the car's windscreen and bloodied seats were clearly visible
Good was shot three times in the face at a protest in Minneapolis on Wednesday and died at the scene after trying to drive off
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem described Good's actions on Wednesday as 'an act of domestic terrorism' and defended her officer's actions.
'An officer of ours acted quickly and defensively, shot to protect himself and the people around him,' she said.
She later confirmed ICE operations are still underway in Minnesota in spite of the controversy.
Good is a registered voter but her party affiliation is not listed in public records.
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin claimed the woman 'weaponized her vehicle' and called her actions an 'act of domestic terrorism'.
McLaughlin said the ICE agent escalated the situation because he was 'fearing for his own life, the lives of his fellow law enforcement, and the safety of the public'.
'He used his training and saved his own life and that of his fellow officers,' she said in a statement, describing the gunshots as 'defensive shots'.
However, Mayor Jacob Frey claimed DHS was trying 'to spin this as an act of self-defense'.
Meanwhile, Trump took to Truth Social calling the deceased driver 'very disorderly' and someone who 'viciously ran over the ICE Officer'
'This is bulls**t,' he said at a press conference. 'I have a message for our community, our city, and ICE - to ICE, get the f**k out of Minneapolis.'
'We do not want you here. Your stated reason for being in this city is safety and you are doing exactly the opposite.'
Frey highlighted how 'people are being hurt' and 'families are being ripped apart' by immigration officials.
'Long-term Minneapolis residents that have contributed so greatly to our city, to our culture, to our economy, are being terrorized and now somebody is dead. That's on you - and it's also on you to leave,' he said.
Thousands of mourners gathered near the spot where Good was fatally shot for a makeshift vigil and to peacefully protest her death.
Some held signs which read 'ICE Go Home' and 'Minnesota Doesn't Need More ICE', while others simply held lit candles in the darkness and laid flowers at the scene.
Elsewhere, shocking footage emerged of the Stars and Stripes being set aflame as hordes took to the streets.
The protesters shouted anti-ICE chants as they burned the flag, while others threw snowballs and physically confronted agents.
Law enforcement used tear gas and pepper spray on protesters, while local police also put up metal barriers to separate them from federal agents.
Tensions reached fever pitch in the city as the Department of Homeland Security conducted its biggest operation 'ever' in Minneapolis after a series of high profile fraud scandals.