Citizens gather outside KC City Hall to remember Renee Good: ‘Stop ICE terror’
Despite scattered thunderstorms and cold temperatures, people gathered at Kansas City’s Ilus Davis Park outside City Hall on Thursday evening to remember former Kansas City resident Renee Good.
The rally was hosted by the Kansas City branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation and several other grassroots organizations, who held the event to “let the city, the whole world” know that “we demand an end to the raids, the violence and the abuse of our people,” according to the group’s Instagram.
Good, 37, was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis on Wednesday. She lived in the Minneapolis area at the time of her death, but lived in the Kansas City area as recently as 2023, Jackson County court records show.
Chants rang through the air, such as “stand up and fight back,” and “the people united will never be defeated.” Several speakers took the microphone, including Saturn Bicavoka, who lived near Good in her Waldo neighborhood for two years.
“I only said hi to her a couple times, but that makes a huge difference,” Bicavoka told a Star reporter. “Didn’t know her closely.”
Bicavoka said the fatal shooting has affected residents in the neighborhood.
“It’s kind of hitting our little neighborhood,” Bicavoka said. “We’re gonna put up a memorial tomorrow, probably on our little neighborhood sign.”
Good fatally shot by ICE agent in Minneapolis Wednesday
ICE agents were conducting “targeted operations” in Minneapolis on Wednesday when the shooting occurred. Good was in a burgundy Honda Pilot when she was approached and fatally shot.
At a news conference, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed Good had “weaponized her vehicle” after ICE agents became stuck in some snow. She claimed the agents were attempting to push the vehicle out when Good attempted to run them over.
Noem said the shooting was self-defense, and accused Good of an act of “domestic terrorism.”
Minneapolis officials disputed the government’s claims.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in a news conference that video of the incident showed the woman attempting to move away from agents, not aiming at them. He said DHS’ claim that the action was self-defense was “b---s---.”
“This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody getting killed,” Frey said. “Your only reason for being in our city is to create some kind of safety, and you are doing the opposite.”
The Minnesota Star Tribune identified the ICE agent involved in the shooting Thursday as Jonathan Ross, citing a source “with knowledge of the case” and court documents.
The fatal shooting occurred near 34th Street and Portland Avenue, just blocks away from where George Floyd was killed in 2020, according to reporting from CBS News.
Good lived in Kansas City as recently as 2023
Jackson County court documents showed that Good lived in Kansas City as recently as fall 2023. On Oct. 18, 2023, Good filed a petition in Jackson County Circuit Court to change her last name, citing a desire to share a name with her partner.
The document listed a Kansas City address, and listed Good’s three children, one of whom lived in Kansas City with her at the time. The other two children lived in Colorado.
Good’s mother, Donna Ganger, confirmed her daughter’s identity to reporters in Minneapolis on Wednesday. She told reporters Good lived in Minneapolis with her partner.
“Renee was one of the kindest people I’ve ever known,” Ganger told the Minnesota Star Tribune. “She was extremely compassionate. She’s taken care of people all her life. She was loving, forgiving and affectionate. She was an amazing human being.”
Donna and her husband, Tim Ganger, left their Valley Falls, Kansas, home Thursday morning to go to Minnesota, asking neighbors to “keep an eye” on their home. They told them it was their daughter who had been killed.
The shooting has hit home in the small town of about 1,000 people.
“Right now, we’re just trying to love and protect them,” the Rev. Mike Kirby, pastor of the Valley Falls Christian Church, told The Star on Thursday.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas posted a statement on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday, mourning the “loss of a former neighbor, Renee Nicole Good.”
“Kansas Citians will extend our condolences to Renee’s family and friends,” Lucas said. “And, we hope Congress actually works to prevent more tragedies like this one.”
One of Good’s Waldo neighbors, Jennifer Ferguson, said Good and her partner, Rebecca, were “just two ladies with a cool kid,” she told The Star on Thursday.
Ferguson said the pair had lived in the neighborhood for around a year and a half before moving in December 2024. She said the family, which included Good’s young son, lived frugally as she attended graduate school.
Good’s son used to play with Ferguson’s daughter outside. The families swapped Christmas cookies as a parting gift before Good’s family left Kansas City.
A GoFundMe was set up Wednesday for Good’s wife and son. The account had raised nearly $1.5 million as of Thursday evening, vastly surpassing its $50,000 goal. Some donations topped $50,000.
“Renee was pure sunshine, pure love,” the fundraiser said. “She will be desperately missed.”
The Star’s Judy L Thomas, Robert A. Cronkleton, Eric Adler, Nathan Pilling and PJ Green contributed to this report.
This story was originally published January 8, 2026 at 10:15 PM.
