In a heartfelt update on the fundraiser’s page, organizers encouraged potential donors to redirect their generosity towards those in need.
WASHINGTON — A significant online fundraising campaign, initiated to assist the family of Renee Nicole Good, concluded on Friday after successfully gathering over $1.5 million. Good, a Minneapolis resident, tragically lost her life on January 7 when she was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent.
The GoFundMe campaign was launched within hours of the incident, as news spread of the 37-year-old mother of three being fatally shot while driving her SUV. The shooting occurred amid a city-wide immigration crackdown involving ICE agents.
The Minneapolis City Council expressed their condolences, emphasizing that Good was “out caring for her neighbors” at the time of the incident.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara clarified earlier that day, stating that there was no indication Good was specifically targeted during any law enforcement operation.
In their final message, the organizers of the fundraiser called on supporters to continue their acts of kindness by contributing to others who are in dire situations.
“Thank you for your generosity. We’ve closed this GoFundMe and will place the funds in a trust for the family,” organizers wrote. “If you’re looking to donate, we encourage you to support others in need. We’re truly grateful.”
Organizers also included a statement provided by Renee’s wife, Becca, to Minneapolis Public Radio.
The full statement can be read below:
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.
Renee sparkled. She literally sparkled. I mean, she didn’t wear glitter but I swear she had sparkles coming out of her pores. All the time. You might think it was just my love talking but her family said the same thing. Renee was made of sunshine.
Renee lived by an overarching belief: there is kindness in the world and we need to do everything we can to find it where it resides and nurture it where it needs to grow. Renee was a Christian who knew that all religions teach the same essential truth: we are here to love each other, care for each other, and keep each other safe and whole.
Like people have done across place and time, we moved to make a better life for ourselves. We chose Minnesota to make our home. Our whole extended road trip here, we held hands in the car while our son drew all over the windows to pass the time and the miles.
What we found when we got here was a vibrant and welcoming community, we made friends and spread joy. 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.
We were raising our son to believe that no matter where you come from or what you look like, all of us deserve compassion and kindness. Renee lived this belief every day. She is pure love. She is pure joy. She is pure sunshine.
On Wednesday, January 7th, we stopped to support our neighbors. We had whistles. They had guns.
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. 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.
What happened to Renee Nicole Good?
Videos posted to social media show the moments leading up to and after an ICE agent shot a Good while she was driving a red Honda Pilot.
Footage from multiple bystanders shows at least three ICE officers walking up to the SUV after stepping out of an unmarked truck. One officer is seen pulling on the driver’s door handle and ordering the woman to get out. As the vehicle begins to move — first in reverse, then forward — another officer stands in front of the SUV and draws his weapon. While the vehicle is moving forward and then past the officer, several shots are fired. The car continues forward for a moment before crashing into a parked car a short way down the street.
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin confirmed that an ICE agent fatally shot a person in a vehicle, claiming that the person was trying to ram agents.
“Our officer followed his training and did exactly what he was taught to do,” United States Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said in a press conference Wednesday afternoon.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said at a Wednesday press conference that he had viewed the video and said it did not appear the driver was trying to hit ICE agents.
“The narrative that this was just done in self-defense is a garbage narrative,” Frey said. “It is not true.”
ICE killing sparks national anger
Good’s killing has sparked outrage nationwide, as activists push back against a ramping up of enforcement actions by ICE under the Trump administration.
Hundreds of people demonstrated in downtown Minneapolis Friday night outside a hotel they believe ICE agents are staying at.
During the demonstration, a sizeable crowd marched in downtown, stopping at the Canopy by Hilton on South 3rd Street. People shone flashlights at the hotel and banged on the windows. Meanwhile, others played drums, guitar, or banged on pots and pans. Many held signs up criticizing ICE and calling on federal agents to leave the city.
State and local officials demanded that the immigration agents leave Minnesota after the fatal shooting. But Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said agents won’t be going anywhere.
Protests and vigils for Good popped up across the nation in the days after her death, with more planned in various cities over the weekend.
The head of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said Thursday that the U.S. attorney’s office had barred it from taking part in the investigation.
BCA Superintendent Drew Evans said in a statement that after the agency consulted with the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, the U.S. attorney’s office and the FBI following the shooting, it was decided that the BCA Force Investigations Unit would conduct a joint investigation with the FBI. But he said the FBI later informed the BCA that the U.S. attorney’s office had changed the plan.
“The investigation would now be led solely by the FBI, and the BCA would no longer have access to the case materials, scene evidence or investigative interviews necessary to complete a thorough and independent investigation,” Evans wrote.
“Without complete access to the evidence, witnesses and information collected, we cannot meet the investigative standards that Minnesota law and the public demands. As a result, the BCA has reluctantly withdrawn from the investigation. The BCA Force Investigations Unit was designed to ensure consistency, accountability and public confidence, none of which can be achieved without full cooperation and jurisdictional clarity,” he wrote.
