Becca Good, the wife of Renee Nicole Good, who was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on Wednesday, Jan. 7, has broken her silence on the tragedy.
In a statement to MPR News on Jan. 9, Becca said, “First, I want to extend my gratitude to all the people who have reached out from across the country and around the world to support our family.”
“This kindness of strangers is the most fitting tribute because if you ever encountered my wife, Renee Nicole Macklin Good, you know that above all else, she was kind. In fact, kindness radiated out of her,” she added.
Becca wrote that she and Renee — who had three children from two previous marriages — recently moved to Minnesota “to make a better life for ourselves.”
“What we found when we got here was a vibrant and welcoming community, we made friends and spread joy,” she continued. “And while any place we were together was home, there was a strong shared sense here in Minneapolis that we were looking out for each other. Here, I had finally found peace and safe harbor. That has been taken from me forever.”
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Renee and Becca were driving back home from dropping their son off at school on Jan. 7, when they came upon a group of ICE agents, her ex-husband told The Associated Press. Video from the scene showed one agent approach their Honda SUV and attempt to open the driver’s side door. As Renee tried to drive away, another agent rounded the front of the car and fired three shots into the open driver’s side window.
The SUV then crashed into parked cars on the side of the street. Becca can be heard on the recording saying, “They shot my wife.” She later added, “I made her come down here, it’s my fault,” The National News Desk reported.
In her statement, Becca shared why the two ended up encountering ICE on that fateful day.
“On Wednesday, January 7th, we stopped to support our neighbors,” she wrote. “We had whistles. They had guns.”
Renee suffered gunshot wounds to the head, ABC News reported, citing city officials. While video from the scene showed officers stopping a man who identified himself as a doctor from offering her care, she was ultimately transported to a local hospital and pronounced dead.
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Becca wrote, “Renee leaves behind three extraordinary children; the youngest is just six years old and already lost his father. I am now left to raise our son and to continue teaching him, as Renee believed, that there are people building a better world for him. That the people who did this had fear and anger in their hearts, and we need to show them a better way.”
“We thank you for the privacy you are granting our family as we grieve,” she concluded. “We thank you for ensuring that Renee’s legacy is one of kindness and love. We honor her memory by living her values: rejecting hate and choosing compassion, turning away from fear and pursuing peace, refusing division and knowing we must come together to build a world where we all come home safe to the people we love.”
