Fact Check: Was shooting of Renee Nicole Good the first recorded homicide in Minneapolis in 2026?

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: After a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis on January 7, 2026, people on social media quickly seized on the story.

They claimed it was the city's first and only homicide of the year so far.

Some suggested that because this was the only homicide on record at the start of the year, the incident deserved extra scrutiny, or that Minneapolis might be experiencing an unusually low crime rate. So, let's fact-check the claims.  

Claim: As of January 7, 2026, the shooting of Renee Nicole Good was Minneapolis’ only recorded homicide of the year

Posts on social media claim that the ICE killing of Renee Nicole Good was the first recorded homicide in Minneapolis in 2026, spread widely, often accompanied by photos and comments describing it as a one-of-a-kind case.

Some users went further, suggesting that because it was the only homicide reported early in the year, it should be viewed differently, or that the city’s crime rate was strangely low.

Posts with the claim circulated on X, Facebook, and Threads.

One post read, “It’s probably worth noting that for all of the right-wing narrative around Minneapolis being unsafe, there has only been one homicide in the city so far this year. It happened today and was committed by a masked ICE agent.”

Fact Check: Yes, Minneapolis' crime dashboard recorded no homicides from January 1 to 7, 2026

The numbers support the claim that Renee Nicole Good’s shooting was the only homicide recorded in early 2026. It should be noted that, by definition, a homicide is the killing of one person by another and is not always a criminal act under the law. 

Snopes reviewed the Minneapolis' crime data and found just one shooting listed between January 1 and January 7, right at 34th Street East and Portland Avenue.

That location matches where Good was shot and later died.

A spokesperson for the Minneapolis Police Department, Garrett Parten, stated via email to Snopes on January 8 that there were "no shootings in 2026 recorded in Minneapolis prior to Jan 7, 2026," and "no shooting in Minneapolis other than the one involving a federal agent." 

It is important to note, however, that crime data are preliminary and subject to review and updates throughout the year.

Early January statistics often reflect only a few days of reporting and do not provide a complete picture of overall homicide trends.

The Minnesota Star Tribune, the largest newspaper in the state, routinely covers all fatal shootings and killings in Minneapolis, and a search of the newspaper's website found no reports of homicides in the city in 2026, before Good's killing. 

Thus, as of January 7, 2026, the fatal shooting of Good was the only homicide recorded in Minneapolis’s crime data.