The family issued a statement about the 37-year-old mother of three the same day they announced they would be pursuing a civil investigation aiming to hold ICE accountable.Ask USA TODAY anything

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What led to the ICE agent shooting Renee Good?

The family of a woman gunned down by a federal agent revealed new details on Jan. 14 about what she was doing in the hours leading up to the fatal shooting that sparked protests nationwide.

Renee Nicole Macklin Good was fatally shot on Jan. 7 by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement agent Jonathan Ross. The shooting came amid an ICE action in Minneapolis, Minnesota, when the 37-year-old mother of three drove her SUV forward near Ross after being told to exit her vehicle.

Widely seen footage of the deadly encounter has sharply divided the country. Department of Homeland Security officials say Ross acted properly and that Good was engaged in “domestic terrorism”; top Democrats have called for Ross’ arrest. New polling finds most American voters think the shooting was unjustified.

In statements where they called Good “the beautiful light of our family,” the woman’s four siblings, parents and their attorneys described the shooting as a result of a chance encounter after dropping her 6-year-old child off at school.

“We want to thank everyone who has reached out in support of Renee and our family. The kind of unending care we’ve been given during this time is exactly the kind that she gave to everyone,” Good’s family said in a letter shared with USA TODAY. “Nae was the beautiful light of our family and brought joy to anyone she met. She was relentlessly hopeful and optimistic which was contagious. We all already miss her more than words could ever express.”

An undated family photo of Renee Nicole Macklin Good and brother Brent Ganger.

What injury did ICE agent suffer? Agent who shot Renee Nicole Good suffered internal bleeding, feds say

‘Helping their neighbors’

According to the family and their attorneys, Good and wife Becca Good were driving in their car with their dog after dropping off their child when they came across federal agents in their neighborhood engaged in an immigration action. The couple stopped “to observe, with the intention of supporting and helping their neighbors,” family attorneys said.

Becca Good exited the SUV shortly before the deadly encounter. Among Good’s last words caught on camera, the woman can be heard telling immigration agents, “I’m not mad at you.”

“She was our best friend with a seemingly infinite capacity for love. Nae-Nae gave everything she had to take care of her friends and family, and indeed people she never met,” Good’s family said. “She was our protector, our shoulder to cry on, and our scintillating source of joy.”

The new details come as the family announced a Chicago-based law firm is launching an investigation into Good’s death. The investigation comes as Justice Department officials say there is “no basis” for an investigation in the case. The firm, Romanucci & Blandin, is the same group that represented the family of George Floyd after he was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis in 2020.

Department of Homeland Security leaders say the controversial deployment of militarized agents to the state is needed to root out fraud agency officials have linked to Somali immigrants.