Renee Nicole Good's family urges public to tone down 'violent rhetoric' amid calls for justice

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: As national outrage continues over the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE officer in Minneapolis, members of her extended family are urging the public to slow down the rhetoric and center the conversation on care and accountability.

In their first public statement they made to The Guardian, relatives said they want answers and responsibility for Renee's death, but not at the cost of further hostility or dehumanization. 

They stressed that the focus should remain on who Renee was in life, rather than the political battle that has followed her killing.

The family said their hope is that what happened to Renee leads to meaningful reform while sparing other families similar trauma.

Extended family issues first public statement

Until now, public comments had come only from Renee Nicole Good's wife, Becca Good.

The new statement was issued by relatives connected to Renee's late partner, Timmy Macklin Jr, with input from her mother.

Macklin’s parents and siblings remembered Renee as an “extraordinary, fiercely devoted mother who placed her children at the heart of everything she did, describing her as warm-hearted and defined by compassion rather than malice.”

Jessica Fletcher, Renee's former sister-in-law, said the family did not want their words to be used as ammunition in a broader political fight.

“There’s been a lot of hateful rhetoric on all sides, and what’s been lost is a clear picture of who Renee truly was,” she said. 

The 37-year-old's former mother-in-law, Charlene Fletcher, reportedly said that meeting Renee marked the beginning of a new chapter in her life and helped make her “a better mother.”

“It feels profoundly wrong that Renee died this way,” Charlene said. “She had a beautiful voice that everyone deserved to hear and the last thing she would have wanted was violence committed in her name.”

Renee was a mother of three. Her two older children live with their father, while her youngest son, now six years old, is an orphan following the earlier death of his father, Macklin.

The family said all three children “deserve privacy, protection and care as they begin to navigate life without their mother.”

Macklin, an Air Force veteran, died in 2023 at age 36. The family said he struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health challenges, adding that the years he spent raising his child with Renee were “truly the best he ever had.”

Family echoes Becca Good’s message

The family’s remarks mirrored a statement Becca Good made last week.

“The way to honor Renee is by living her values,” Becca said, calling for “rejecting hate and choosing compassion, turning away from fear and pursuing peace, refusing division and knowing we must come together to build a world where we all come home safe to the people we love.”

Earlier, a GoFundMe campaign was set up to support the family of Renee, and over $1.3 million was raised to help her loved ones cope with the loss.

The fundraiser, organized shortly after Renee's death, intended to benefit her wife and young son, grew rapidly as people across the country contributed to it.