Becca Good, the wife of Renee Good, who was shot and killed by an ICE agent on the streets of the couple’s Minneapolis neighborhood on Wednesday, is speaking out for the first time since the shooting. Meanwhile, a crowdfunding campaign for Renee Good’s wife and son has raised over $1.5 million just 48 hours after the tragedy.

Becca Good began by thanking “all the people who have reached out from across the country and around the world to support our family,” In a statement released by Minnesota Public Radio Friday morning.

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“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,” she wrote.

“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,” Becca Good continued. “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.”

Good’s comments on the shooting itself were brief.

“On Wednesday, January 7th, we stopped to support our neighbors. We had whistles. They had guns,” she said. Good’s account of her wife aligns with those of her family, friends, and colleagues, who describe the out mother of three as generous, a loving mom, and a caring neighbor.

Their descriptions stand in stark contrast to Trump administration statements about Good and the circumstances of her death, which have been at odds with the facts since just moments after the shooting.

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Vice President J.D. Vance described Good as “brainwashed” and a “victim of left-wing ideology” in an appearance at the White House before an investigation into the shooting even began. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called her a “domestic terrorist,” while department spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin claimed Good “was stalking agents all day long, impeding our law enforcement.” In reality, only two hours had elapsed between Good dropping her son off at school and the time she was shot.

President Trump said without evidence that Good was a “professional agitator” who “violently, willfully, and viciously … ran over the ICE officer.” But video of the shooting clearly shows that the ICE agent wasn’t run over and was out of the path of Good’s vehicle when he killed her.

Interviews with those who knew Good paint a much different picture of her than the Trump administration’s characterization.

She was “a devoted Christian who took part in youth mission trips to Northern Ireland when she was younger,” said her first husband, who spoke on the condition of anonymity with the Washington Post out of concern for the safety of the one-time couple’s 15-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son. “She loved to sing and studied vocal performance in college.”

She was “a great and loving mother,” he said.

“My memory of Renee is how much she tried to connect with her peers and support them,” said one of her professors, Kent Wascom, director of Old Dominion’s MFA and creative writing program in Tennessee. “She was a really warm presence but not a show-off. She never made a class about herself, even when her work was the focus of a workshop.”

Mentor and professional photographer Charles W. Winslow said of Good, “As a friend, she was kindhearted and always helping others in need. She didn’t care of race, creed, color. If she had $10 in her pocket, she would give a homeless person $9 that she passes on the street.”

In 2023, Good’s second husband, Timmy Macklin, a military vet who suffered from PTSD, died at the age of 36. The couple had a son.

Joseph Macklin, Good’s brother-in-law, said she made an effort to keep her son in touch with his family back in Tennessee.

“She always brought him to see us. She was so kindhearted,” he said.

After Macklin’s death, Good met and fell in love with Becca Good. The couple married and settled in Kansas City, Missouri.

They were “just such nice people” and “great parents” to their son, neighbor Jennifer Ferguson said. “They rarely left the house,” except to take their son to school. “They were homebodies.”

The couple wasn’t overtly political, she recalled, but decided to leave red-state Missouri after Trump’s election in 2024. They moved to Minneapolis in March.

Joseph Macklin said Thursday that Good’s children “are hurting and wondering why this happened, especially the youngest.”

“It is definitely a tragedy no kid should have to go through at such a young age,” he said. “And to have to see it all over social media and television is sickening.”

“She was a good mother and a good person, and she didn’t deserve this,” he told the Post.

Becca Good “doesn’t deserve to be without [Renee], her mom doesn’t deserve to be without her, and her kids don’t deserve to be without her,” he said. “It truly is a tragedy that not just our family is going through, but our nation.”

A GoFundMe in support of Renee Good’s wife and son has raised a remarkable $1.5 million in the 48 hours after the shooting.

A scan of the donations and comments indicates Americans and others around the world are looking for a tangible way not only to support Good’s family, but to speak out about the administration’s actions that led to her death.

Said one couple with their $25 donation, “Our family is heartbroken for your loss. This madness MUST end. Renee was a hero, committing ‘good trouble’, and all Americans owe her a debt of gratitude. On behalf of all freedom loving, patriotic Americans, we love and thank you. Rest In Power Renee ♡”

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