A private autopsy says Renee Good was shot three times, but federal officials are still telling a very different story

The private autopsy commissioned by the family of Renee Good has confirmed the unarmed US citizen was struck by gunfire three times during a deadly encounter with a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis earlier this month. The findings were reported by The Guardian.

Attorneys representing Good’s family ordered the independent postmortem and released preliminary results late Wednesday. The examination identified three distinct gunshot wounds on the 37-year-old mother.

The new findings provide physical evidence that directly conflicts with the federal government’s public account of the shooting. Officials have continued to defend the officer involved while declining to open a criminal investigation.

The physical evidence contradicts the federal account

The autopsy found that one bullet struck Good’s left forearm, while another entered through her right breast but missed major organs and was not immediately life-threatening. The fatal shot hit the left side of her head near the temple and exited on the right, and the report also documented a graze wound consistent with a firearm injury, similar to other recent enforcement news, like an immigration arrest that went wrong after a suspect tried to flee.

Those findings align with early incident reports and 911 call transcripts from January 7. The calls described two apparent gunshot wounds to the right side of Good’s chest and a possible gunshot wound with protruding tissue on the left side of her head.

Federal officials have continued to present a sharply different version of events. The White House and the Department of Homeland Security have repeatedly described Good as a domestic terrorist who drove her vehicle toward an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, forcing the officer to fire in self-defense. That narrative has fueled disputes over federal actions similar to coverage of an off-duty cop being surrounded by ICE agents with guns drawn in Minnesota‎.

Video footage released after the shooting appears to contradict that claim. The clips show Good steering away from the agent and attempting to drive off when she was shot, with at least two rounds fired from the side of her vehicle.

Despite the autopsy findings and the video evidence, the Department of Justice has said the available footage cleared the officer, Jonathan Ross, and that no criminal investigation will be opened. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the department would not launch an inquiry simply because state officials were demanding one.

That stance has angered Minnesota leaders, including Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who say federal authorities have excluded them from the FBI inquiry. Federal attention has instead shifted toward examining Good’s widow and several Democratic officials in the state.

Good was killed while relatives say she was acting as a legal observer during heightened ICE activity in the area. Her death has coincided with expanded immigration enforcement operations that have led to clashes with protesters and arrests of US citizens and children. Several federal prosecutors have also resigned in protest over the handling of the case.