Becca Good, the wife of Renee Nicole Good, who was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on Wednesday, Jan. 7, has shared her first public statement about the loss.
In remarks 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.”
She said the support has felt especially meaningful because, she explained, Renee Nicole Macklin Good was defined by her compassion.
“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,” Becca added. “In fact, kindness radiated out of her.”
Becca said she and Renee — who had three children from two previous marriages — had recently relocated to Minnesota in hopes of starting fresh.
“We recently moved to Minnesota to make a better life for ourselves,” she said, adding that they found community quickly after arriving. “What we found when we got here was a vibrant and welcoming community, we made friends and spread joy.”
She described Minneapolis as a place where she finally felt safe.
“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,” she continued. “Here, I had finally found peace and safe harbor. That has been taken from me forever.”
What Happened on Jan. 7
Renee and Becca were driving home after dropping their son off at school on Jan. 7 when they came upon a group of ICE agents, Renee’s 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 moved around the front of the vehicle and fired three shots into the open driver’s side window.
The SUV then crashed into parked cars along the side of the street. In the recording, Becca can be heard 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 explained why they stopped in the area that morning.
“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. Video from the scene also appeared to show officers preventing a man who identified himself as a doctor from providing immediate care. Renee was later transported to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Becca’s Message About Renee’s Legacy
Becca said Renee’s death has left her to care for their family while trying to hold onto the values Renee lived by.
“Renee leaves behind three extraordinary children; the youngest is just six years old and already lost his father,” she wrote. “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.”
She added that she wants their child to understand that the actions that led to Renee’s death came from a place of fear and anger — and that the response should not be more hate.
“That the people who did this had fear and anger in their hearts, and we need to show them a better way,” she wrote.
Becca closed by asking for space as they mourn, and by urging others to remember Renee through the compassion she practiced every day.
“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.”
