Wife of ICE shooting victim says 'I made her come down here' to confront agents as she breaks down in harrowing footage
By MELISSA KOENIG, US REPORTER and BRITTANY CHAIN, US SENIOR REPORTER and NIC WHITE, US SENIOR INVESTIGATIONS REPORTERPublished: 23:38 EST, 7 January 2026 | Updated: 08:41 EST, 8 January 2026
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The grieving wife of a woman shot dead by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minnesota broke down in tears and blamed herself for the tragedy.
Harrowing footage from the scene showed the unidentified woman in tears over the shooting death of 37-year-old poet Renee Nicole Good, as she admitted encouraging her spouse to confront agents.
'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.'
Witnesses have claimed Good, a mother of three, and her wife were acting as legal observers and filming the protest when she was shot three times in the face at a protest in Minneapolis on Wednesday.
But Good's mother, Donna Ganger, has denied reports that her daughter 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 told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. '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.'
The distraught mother added that her daughter 'was probably terrified.'
The footage emerged amid tense rhetoric surrounding who was to blame for the woman's death as public officials remained fiercely divided.
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Renee Nicole Good, 37, was shot dead by ICE in Minneapolis on Wednesday
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A woman, seen in a video claiming to be Good's wife, seemed to blame herself for the tragedy, saying she 'made her come down here' to the ICE protests
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Good was shot three times in the face at a protest and died at the scene after trying to drive off
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ICE said that Good deliberately drove her burgundy SUV at agents - something that was disputed by witnesses and mayor Jacob Frey even called 'bulls**t'.
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.
Vice President JD Vance said agents were going to 'work even harder' after the woman was shot.
'I want every ICE officer to know that their president, vice president, and the entire administration stands behind them,' he said.
'To the radicals assaulting them, doxxing them, and threatening them: congratulations, we're going to work even harder to enforce the law.'
President Trump called the dead woman a 'professional agitator' and claimed she was shot in 'self-defense.'
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Good lost control of the SUV and slammed it into parked cars and a light pole at high speed, prompting screams of shock from horrified onlookers
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Good, who was a poet, is pictured left with her sister and mother Donna Ganger
Video from the scene showed Good apparently ignoring ICE agents' demands to get out of her car, and instead reversing her vehicle as she tried to drive off.
The video began with the victim blocking the road with her car until ICE agents told her to move away.
She then reversed to head back down the road as an agent tried to open its driver-side door handle before she drove off.
Three shots then rang out.
At that point, Good lost control of the SUV and slammed it into parked cars and a light pole at high speed, prompting screams of shock from horrified onlookers.
Her SUV was seen with a bullet hole through the driver's side windshield.
Good, who grew up in Colorado Springs, is a registered voter but her party affiliation is not listed in public records.
She was previously married to a comedian named Timothy Macklin, who died in 2023 and now lives in Minneapolis with her partner, whose name has not been shared.
She and Macklin had one child together, a six-year-old son, who is now orphaned. His paternal grandfather told the Star-Tribune 'there's nobody else in his life'.
'I'll drive. I'll fly. To come and get my grandchild.'
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The remains of the SUV with a bloodied airbag after the woman was rushed to hospital
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Photos of the woman's car showed children's toys inside
In the footage from the scene, Good's wife also mentioned her six-year-old child.
'That's my wife, I don't know what to do,' the onlooker wailed.
The man filming the video then asked if she had any friends who could help.
'I have a six-year-old at school... we're new here, we don't have anyone,' she answered.
At that point, a frantic onlooker shouted: 'We need a doctor.'
The man asked if she knew any of her wife's relatives she could call but she said, 'I can't even deal with that now.'
Photos of the woman's car in the aftermath showed children's toys inside, including a plush animal and a child's drawing.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said nothing indicated that 'this woman was the target of a law enforcement investigation'.
Her spouse had arrived at the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
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Mayor Jacob Frey told ICE to 'get the f**k out' of his city during a press conference yesterday
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'.
'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.
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Protesters clash with police after a driver of a vehicle was shot on Wednesday amid an immigration enforcement surge in Minneapolis
The FBI and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension are now investigating the shooting.
Meanwhile, Governor Tim Walz asked his citizens to 'remain calm' as he slammed DHS's narrative as 'propaganda'.
'The state will ensure there is a full, fair, and expeditious investigation to ensure accountability and justice,' he wrote on Twitter.
'Don't believe this propaganda machine.'
His remarks came as protesters gathered near the scene of the shooting, where some were seen throwing snowballs at ICE officers.
Others took to the streets waving flags that read 'FTP', standing for 'F**k The Police.' Some were also seen burning the American flag, while others held the banners upside-down.
Videos shared online also showed ICE and other federal agents dousing protesters with tear gas and pepper spray.
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Bullet holes in the car's windscreen and bloodied seats were clearly visible
Walz has since warned that the Minnesota National Guard is preparing for deployment to Minneapolis.
'We have soldiers in training and prepared to be deployed if necessary,' he said.
'They are teachers in your community, they're business owners, they're construction professionals, they are Minnesotans.
'Minnesota will not allow our community to be used as a prop in a national political fight. We will not take the bait.'
He then addressed Donald Trump and Noem directly.
'You've done enough. We do not need any further help from the federal government,' he said.
'What we're seeing is the consequences of governance designed to generate fear, headlines and conflict.'
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A person yells at Minneapolis police officers near the scene where Good was shot and killed
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Protesters have been gathering in the area in response to the shooting, and some threw snowballs at ICE officers
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Others took the streets waving flags that read 'FTP', standing for 'F*** The Police'
Turning his attention to the protesters, Walz asked for peace.
'I say this. I feel your anger. I'm angry. They want to show, we can't give it to them. We cannot. If you protest and express your First Amendment rights, please do so peacefully, as you always do. We can't give them what they want,' he said.
Meanwhile, Trump took to Truth Social, calling the deceased driver 'very disorderly' and someone who 'viciously ran over the ICE Officer'.
'The woman screaming was, obviously, a professional agitator, and the woman driving the car was very disorderly, obstructing and resisting, who then violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer, who seems to have shot her in self-defense,' he wrote.
'Based on the attached clip, it is hard to believe he is alive, but is now recovering in the hospital.'
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Meanwhile, Trump took to Truth Social calling the deceased driver 'very disorderly' and someone who 'viciously ran over the ICE Officer'
The President seemed to blame 'radical left' rhetoric for the shooting.
'The situation is being studied, in its entirety, but the reason these incidents are happening is because the Radical Left is threatening, assaulting, and targeting our Law Enforcement Officers and ICE Agents on a daily basis,' he wrote.
'They are just trying to do the job of MAKING AMERICA SAFE.
'We need to stand by and protect our Law Enforcement Officers from this Radical Left Movement of Violence and Hate!'
