The family of Renee Nicole Good, the Minneapolis woman shot dead by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent earlier this month, has issued a public statement after being forced to confront false online claims that she had a criminal history.

37-year-old Good was killed on January 7 after an ICE agent opened fire in ‘self-defence’ after her SUV clipped him during an encounter in a residential neighbourhood. In the days that followed, unverified rumours about her criminal history went viral on social media.

Good’s sister-in-law broke the silence and addressed the rumours on Facebook. Morgan Fletcher said the family had remained quiet until they could put together a response. “I’ve been pretty quiet about this, because I wanted to wait until our family could piece together a statement … and it is finally published,” she wrote.

Fletcher said the family never expected the death to become a national debate. “You never think the passing of a loved one will be high profile … or a massively divisive, political topic,” she said.

She described how the online attacks impacted the grieving family. “We are grieving. Heavily. And yes, we see everyone’s posts and comments. Some in support but also, the nasty ones ripping apart our beautiful and beloved Renee.”

Addressing the rumours, Fletcher added, “And we’ve seen the false claims and the wrong Renee Good’s info being posted (criminal history? She didn’t have one.)”