Renee Nicole Good Should Be Alive: Newtown Action Alliance Condemns ICE Killing and Warns Militarized Enforcement Is a Gun Violence Issue
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 8, 2026
Renee Nicole Good Should Be Alive: Newtown Action Alliance Condemns ICE Killing and Warns Militarized Enforcement Is a Gun Violence Issue
Newtown, CT — Newtown Action Alliance condemns the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother and U.S. citizen, by an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minneapolis. Based on publicly reported information and available video accounts, serious questions remain about why lethal force was used and whether it was necessary.
As a gun violence prevention organization, Newtown Action Alliance views this killing through a clear and consistent lens: who is armed, when guns are used, how force is escalated, and whether accountability exists when a life is taken. By that standard, Renee Nicole Good’s death raises grave concerns.
This tragedy is not an isolated incident. It comes amid a broader shift toward militarized federal enforcement, including a reported $100 million “wartime recruitment” campaign that targets gun-rights and military-style audiences and includes recruitment at gun shows. Recruiting armed agents through gun culture normalizes weapons as identity rather than last-resort tools, benefits the gun industry, and increases the likelihood that encounters in civilian spaces will escalate to gunfire.
At the same time, the Trump Administration has clawed back investments in proven community violence intervention and prevention programs—public health strategies that reduce shootings and save lives—while expanding armed operations in cities. From a gun violence perspective, this trade-off is dangerous and predictable: more guns in more high-stress encounters, fewer safeguards, and a higher risk of unnecessary death.
Statement from Po Murray, Chairwoman, Newtown Action Alliance:
“Renee Nicole Good should be alive today. Our hearts are with her family and community. Based on what has been reported and what is visible on video, this killing is unjustifiable and unconscionable. The life of a mother of three was forcibly taken because an ICE encounter escalated to gunfire in an immigrant community.
Renee Nicole Good’s killing comes on the heels of yet another mass shooting—this time in Salt Lake City, Utah—where two people were killed and six others were injured outside a funeral in a burst of civilian gunfire. These two tragedies, occurring within hours of one another, underscore a painful truth: gun violence in America is relentless, and it takes many forms—but it always ends the same way, with lives lost and families shattered.
Gun violence is not limited to civilian shootings. It also includes state-sanctioned use of guns—how armed agents are trained, how quickly excessive force is used, and whether accountability follows. When federal agencies expand armed operations in civilian spaces, recruit through gun culture, and adopt ‘wartime’ messaging, escalation becomes more likely and innocent lives are put at risk.
We have spent 13 years - since the Sandy Hook shooting tragedy - pushing back on the false idea that more guns make us safer. The government should not be reinforcing that myth. Real public safety comes from prevention, de-escalation, and accountability—not inhume force-first immigration enforcement tactics that turn routine encounters into deadly ones.
Renee Nicole Good’s life mattered. Her killing demands transparency, independent investigation, and a serious course correction away from militarization and toward approaches that actually save lives.”
Newtown Action Alliance calls on the Trump Administration and Congress to:
Ensure a truly independent investigation with full public transparency and accountability;
End militarized recruitment strategies, including recruitment at gun shows and messaging that glorifies force;
Restore and expand funding for community violence intervention and prevention programs proven to reduce shootings;
Recommit to public safety standards that prioritize de-escalation, proportional use of force, and the sanctity of human life; and
End militarized incursions by ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in our communities as they make us less safe.
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Newtown Action Alliance (www.newtownactionalliance.org) is a Newtown-based, national grassroots organization formed after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings. Our mission is to achieve the steady and continuous reduction of gun violence through legislative and cultural changes.