Prayer Vigil Marks One Week Since Renee Good Was Killed by ICE Agent

Minneapolis, MN 

Community members, faith leaders, and neighbors gathered Wednesday morning along Portland Avenue in south Minneapolis to mark one week since Renee Good was fatally shot by a federal immigration agent, holding a solemn prayer vigil that organizers said was intended to center grief, reflection, and healing rather than protest.

The gathering took place near the memorial site on Portland Avenue between East 33rd and 34th streets, beginning shortly after 9:30 a.m. Organizers Sheletta Brundidge and the Rev. June Pierce invited participants to stand in quiet prayer for three hours, rotating in 30 minute shifts, timed to coincide with the moment Good was shot the previous week.

“There won’t be any marching, no protesting, no pomp or circumstance,” Brundidge said earlier this week. “We’ll be standing in one spot, praying for peace and unity.”

The shooting

According to federal authorities, the fatal encounter occurred on the morning of Wednesday, February 7, 2024, in the Central neighborhood of Minneapolis. Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were in the area conducting a targeted enforcement operation unrelated to Good.

Federal officials say Good, 43, was inside a parked sport utility vehicle when agents approached during the operation. Authorities allege that she shifted the vehicle into drive and moved toward an agent, who responded by firing three shots into the SUV. Good was pronounced dead at the scene.

ICE officials have stated that the agent acted in self defense, describing the vehicle as a threat. The agency has not publicly released video footage of the shooting, and it remains unclear whether any of the agents involved were equipped with or required to activate body worn cameras at the time.

A city on edge

Good’s death quickly became a flashpoint in Minneapolis, a city with a long and painful history of officer involved killings. In the days following the shooting, protests and demonstrations erupted across the city, with demonstrators condemning the presence and tactics of federal immigration agents in residential neighborhoods. Some of those protests led to confrontations between demonstrators and federal officers.

Against that backdrop, Brundidge and Pierce said the vigil was deliberately designed to lower the temperature.

“This is not about confrontation,” Pierce said at the site Wednesday morning. “It is about prayer, mourning, and calling our community back to peace.”

Participants stood quietly near candles, flowers, and handwritten signs bearing Good’s name, many bowing their heads or holding hands as traffic passed along Portland Avenue.

Investigation and jurisdictional tension

The shooting remains under investigation, but oversight of the case has been a source of controversy. Because the incident involved federal agents acting in the course of their duties, the investigation is being handled by the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Justice, rather than by Minnesota state authorities such as the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

A senior official with the U.S. Department of Justice has said the department does not currently see a basis to open a federal criminal civil rights investigation, a process that requires evidence that an officer willfully violated a person’s constitutional rights, a standard that legal experts describe as difficult to meet.

State and local officials have expressed frustration over their limited role in the inquiry, while community advocates have called for greater transparency and independent oversight.

Remembering Renee Good

Family members and supporters have described Good as a mother and community member who was not the target of the ICE operation underway that morning. Her death has fueled renewed debate over how federal law enforcement operates in cities where local leaders have sought to limit cooperation with immigration enforcement and emphasize de escalation.

As the investigation continues, organizers of Wednesday’s vigil said their focus remains on honoring Good’s life and offering space for collective mourning.

“We are here because a life was lost,” Brundidge said. “And before anything else, our community needs time to grieve.”

The memorial along Portland Avenue remains in place, drawing visitors who stop to pray, leave flowers, or simply stand in silence at the spot where Renee Good was killed.

MinneapoliMedia