Renee Good ICE shooting: Atlanta vigils as new videos emerge

ATLANTA - Community members gathered across the Atlanta area Friday for a second night of vigils to mourn Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three who was shot and killed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis on Wednesday.

Death of Renee Nicole Good

What we know:

The coordinated demonstrations follow the release of bystander video showing an ICE officer firing at least two shots into Good’s vehicle at close range as she attempted to drive away. The incident, which took place shortly after Good dropped her youngest child off at an elementary school, has sparked renewed outrage over federal enforcement tactics.

"It was one of the most heinous videos I've seen. It was horrifying," said Marisa Pyle, who attended the vigil at the Atlanta Friends Meeting in Decatur. "I think it's really important to continue showing up to both mourn the people like Renee that ICE has killed, murdered, but also to show that people oppose what they're doing."

While the Trump administration has characterized Good as a domestic terrorist who attempted to ram agents with her vehicle, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and protesters have rejected that account. Frey described the administration’s self-defense argument as "garbage," noting that video shows the encounter lasted less than 10 seconds.

Good, a U.S. citizen born in Colorado, was a poet and former dental assistant who recently moved to Minneapolis from Kansas City. Her family and former teachers described her as a gentle, compassionate woman with no history of activism.

SEE ALSO:

• Minneapolis ICE shooting: New video shows ICE agent's angle
• Woman killed by ICE in Minneapolis: What we know about Renee Nicole Good
• Minneapolis Mayor Frey: ‘I dropped an F-bomb, they killed somebody’
• Minneapolis ICE shooting: Interest in constitutional observer trainings rises
• Minneapolis ICE shooting: BCA won't have access to case material, FBI will lead investigation

Atlanta protests and vigil

What they're saying:

In Atlanta, a coalition of more than 20 organizations, including Casa Alterna and the Black Alliance for Just Immigration, organized three separate vigils on Friday to provide space for grief and political demand.

"We are here to say not one more. Not one more life, not one more family destroyed," said Tammy Pallet, a day of safety lead for the organization 50501. "This state sanctioned violence has got to come to an end. This isn't just about immigration. This is about our country, our citizenship, and our freedom."

Organizers noted that while Good’s death has captured national attention, she is part of a broader trend of fatalities involving ICE and detention facilities over the past year.

At the Decatur vigil, attendees held signs and reflected on the implications of the shooting for the general public.

SEE ALSO: Peaceful Atlanta protest targets ICE after Minneapolis killing

"It's really proof that what ICE is doing to communities will impact all of us, no matter if you're a citizen, if you are white, you know, if you think you're not at risk of these things, you are," Pyle said.

Pallet urged the public to speak out, stating that the current administration is "counting on fear and they're counting on silence."

"What I want to come from all this is for everyone to stand up, for Congress to do their job, to put some parameters on ICE, to get them off of our streets," Pallet said. "They don't need to be there."

Volunteer marshal Tracy Pondo stood among a crowd Friday evening to honor the memory of Renee Good, a woman she described as a symbol of "kindness in a gentler world."

"I volunteered as a marshal so I just wanted to come and honor Renee Good," Pondo said. "I just want to make sure that everyone here is safe and that we have a peaceful time."

While the circumstances of the death have drawn widespread attention, Pondo admitted she has avoided the footage of the incident. "I actually didn't watch the video, I try not to watch some of it," she said.

However, Pondo noted that the news of the shooting did not come as a total shock given the current social climate.

"I feel like it was almost meant to be. Things have been escalating. Violence has been escalated," Pondo said. "And I feel ICE is kind of a violent organization. So I wasn't really surprised."

Despite the tragedy, Pondo said she hopes the event serves as a catalyst for broader change.

"I'm just really sad, I'm really sad but I appreciate her sacrifice because it brings awareness to what's going on in our country," Pondo said.