Just a week into the New Year on January 7th, a shooting in the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota sent shockwaves throughout the nation that reverberated across the world. Thirty-seven year old U.S. citizen, wife, mother of three and poet Renee Nicole Good was shot three times by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The fallout and outrage was immediate.
“I’ve read and watched multiple accounts from people that were there, and people that reviewed the video from both parties and sides,” said junior Isabella Freeman. “What I saw was that a woman was trying to assist or de-escalate a situation, and it ended in a very negative fashion.”
After the incident took place, videos quickly began to surface all over the news and social media and ultimately two conflicting reactions emerged from the video. In this video it appears to show a woman in her car while I.C.E. agents are around the vehicle and other parts of the street. Good then begins to move her vehicle and this is when I.C.E. agent Johnathan Ross reached for his gun and fired three shots that proved fatal. Most of the right-leaning media and the members of the Republican party, including the U.S. President and his administration, are saying the officer acted accordingly to a threat proposed by Good. Conversely, most of the left-leaning media and members of the Democratic party are saying Good did not deserve to be shot and the officer should not have pulled his gun in this situation.
“It does show the violence of our world currently,” said sophomore Brayden Rodriguez. “It does form a good example of what is currently happening and how people have abused their power.”
Many argue that the use of I.C.E. in our country is adequate. Others believe the way it is being handled is antithetical to the values of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The response to Good’s tragic death mirrors the same community’s reaction to George Floyd’s murder that happened just blocks away almost six years ago. While violence not only continues in the city of Minneapolis it has only swept across the nation in recent months
“The fact that we have come to the point where the way we use force is just completely mishandled,” said Freeman. “The way that we mandate things is completely out of control. It wasn’t in her intention to cause any harm.”
Since the incident took place chaos has flared up in Minneapolis – public schools were shut down for the remainder of the week, protests broke out, a man was shot in the leg late into the night of the 14th. President Trump recently posted on his social media site, Truth Social, threatening to invoke Insurrection Act, the Act that allows for active duty military personnel to enter the city. The Act hasn’t been put into place since 1992 to protest in Los Angeles following the Rodney King riots. While what’s going to happen remains unsure, Americans ask for answers.
“America’s too divided to hope for a single response after the shooting,” said senior Manney Velazquez. “I would just hope there would be more compassion to Good the way they were to a political activists shooting that happened back in September.”
Many Americans are just looking for answers. Some ask for empathy to all humans. Some look for why I.C.E. is in their cities and if they are ever leaving. Many are asking why this woman got shot. Some wonder if military enforcements will be coming to their community. Still others ask why the officer should have not protected himself from apparent harm. The uncertainty in our country continues to linger and headlines constantly arise.
“I’d hope for America to at least take some sort of action and care,” said Rodriquez. “But it does not seem to be going that way.”
