ICE Officer Who Killed Woman Was War Veteran and DHS Employee Before Fatal Confrontation
Jonathan Ross, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer at the center of the Renee Nicole Good shooting controversy, has a long history of working for the government and serving in the military. The 37-year-old mother was shot dead by Ross on a snowy Minneapolis street after she tried to drive away during a confrontation with him and other ICE officers.
Before encountering Good, Ross had spent over a decade working for DHS. He enlisted in the Indiana National Guard in November 2004 and deployed to Iraq as a machine gunner on a combat logistical patrol team from November 2004 to November 2005. During his time in Iraq, he earned several awards, including the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Medal, and the Iraq Campaign Medal.
After returning home, Ross joined the U.S. Border Patrol in El Paso, Texas, in 2007 as a field intelligence agent who gathered and analyzed information on drug cartels and human traffickers. He worked for the agency until 2015. That year, Ross joined ICE as a deportation officer based in Minnesota whose job was to identify and arrest "higher value targets." Ross testified that he was also a member of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force as well as a firearms instructor and field intelligence officer.
Ross' name has been widely reported, but the Department of Homeland Security has refused to disclose his identity. The agency confirmed that Ross was seriously injured in June while trying to arrest an immigrant who had refused to get out of his car. Court records viewed by NBC News revealed that the sequence of events that left Ross bloodied and bruised bore some similarities to the scenario that ended with Good's death.
Witness videos contradict Trump's claim that Good "viciously ran over" Ross, showing that Good's car did not knock him down and that his legs were clear of the SUV as it moved by him while he fired. The videos also show that Good's car accelerated down the street after Ross fired, striking a parked car about 140 feet away.
Neighborhoods in Chaska, Minnesota, where Ross lives with his family, have been filled with people trying to make sense of the tragedy. Some have expressed shock and concern that an ICE officer who has been living among them for years could be responsible for such a fatal shooting. "I assumed it was some ICE agent that had come into Minnesota for their operations," said a neighbor, who wished to remain anonymous. "It hurts to think that as someone who's lived here for probably quite a while, because it doesn't reflect what our community is about, what our state is about."
The incident has sparked debate over whether Ross' actions during the confrontation were justified. The FBI is investigating the shooting, and Trump administration figures have defended Ross, claiming that Good was an agitator who attempted to run him over with her SUV. However, witnesses have disputed this claim, saying it did not appear Ross was in the direct path of Good's SUV as she tried to evade ICE officers.
Jonathan Ross, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer at the center of the Renee Nicole Good shooting controversy, has a long history of working for the government and serving in the military. The 37-year-old mother was shot dead by Ross on a snowy Minneapolis street after she tried to drive away during a confrontation with him and other ICE officers.
Before encountering Good, Ross had spent over a decade working for DHS. He enlisted in the Indiana National Guard in November 2004 and deployed to Iraq as a machine gunner on a combat logistical patrol team from November 2004 to November 2005. During his time in Iraq, he earned several awards, including the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Medal, and the Iraq Campaign Medal.
After returning home, Ross joined the U.S. Border Patrol in El Paso, Texas, in 2007 as a field intelligence agent who gathered and analyzed information on drug cartels and human traffickers. He worked for the agency until 2015. That year, Ross joined ICE as a deportation officer based in Minnesota whose job was to identify and arrest "higher value targets." Ross testified that he was also a member of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force as well as a firearms instructor and field intelligence officer.
Ross' name has been widely reported, but the Department of Homeland Security has refused to disclose his identity. The agency confirmed that Ross was seriously injured in June while trying to arrest an immigrant who had refused to get out of his car. Court records viewed by NBC News revealed that the sequence of events that left Ross bloodied and bruised bore some similarities to the scenario that ended with Good's death.
Witness videos contradict Trump's claim that Good "viciously ran over" Ross, showing that Good's car did not knock him down and that his legs were clear of the SUV as it moved by him while he fired. The videos also show that Good's car accelerated down the street after Ross fired, striking a parked car about 140 feet away.
Neighborhoods in Chaska, Minnesota, where Ross lives with his family, have been filled with people trying to make sense of the tragedy. Some have expressed shock and concern that an ICE officer who has been living among them for years could be responsible for such a fatal shooting. "I assumed it was some ICE agent that had come into Minnesota for their operations," said a neighbor, who wished to remain anonymous. "It hurts to think that as someone who's lived here for probably quite a while, because it doesn't reflect what our community is about, what our state is about."
The incident has sparked debate over whether Ross' actions during the confrontation were justified. The FBI is investigating the shooting, and Trump administration figures have defended Ross, claiming that Good was an agitator who attempted to run him over with her SUV. However, witnesses have disputed this claim, saying it did not appear Ross was in the direct path of Good's SUV as she tried to evade ICE officers.
. I mean, who expects to be shot by someone you're supposed to be trusting? And what's even more crazy is that this guy Ross was a war veteran and had been working in the government for over a decade... it just doesn't add up to me. Like, wouldn't we want to know about all these years of service before hiring him as an ICE officer? I'm not saying he didn't deserve to serve his country or anything, but... I don't know, it just feels like there's more to the story that we're not being told 
.
. I feel like we need more transparency and accountability in our law enforcement system, you know?
This is so sad, you know? 
ICE officer who was supposed to be helping ppl just ended up killing a momma and her 2 kiddos... 
. Can't believe this happened in our country! 
Not saying that Good wasn't aggressive or anything, but this whole thing is super messed up... 
. 
What else is he hiding?! 
Not cool, DHS! 
. Anyway, this whole thing has got me shook 
. I mean, Trump's trying to spin this by saying Renee Nicole Good was an agitator, but the videos are telling a different story 
. And what really gets my goat is that Ross has been living among us for years as a DHS employee and war veteran, yet he still managed to lose control and kill someone 
. If someone's going to be part of the system, they should be held to a higher standard 
. And what's with the lack of transparency from the Department of Homeland Security? They're hiding Ross' identity, but they won't say anything about his background or why he was authorized to carry a firearm in this capacity 
.
. Are we going to keep sweeping this under the rug and letting our politicians control the narrative, or are we going to demand answers and accountability? 
I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it all plays out.
. And what really gets me is that his past doesn't exactly scream "good guy" - I mean, he was deployed to Iraq and got all these medals, but he's also been working as a deportation officer for years, basically making it his job to arrest people like Good in the first place 
.
. And we need some accountability for his actions too 
. This whole thing is a mess, and I'm still trying to wrap my head around it 
But yeah, he's also an ICE officer who shot a woman and killed her. Like, isn't that kinda contradictory? 
I mean, Trump's people are saying she was trying to run Ross over with her car and all that, but witnesses say it didn't go down like that. 
It's just weird. And the fact that Ross has been living in this community for years and we don't know any of this about him... 
.
... I don't know if any of that changes the fact that she was shot dead by him though 
I'm still trying to wrap my head around what happened that day on the snowy Minneapolis street 
. The fact that he had all these awards for bravery in Iraq and was working with the FBI doesn't make sense right now 
. We deserve answers about what happened on that day 
. This incident has really exposed a lot of issues with our immigration system and how it affects people like Good who are just trying to make a living 
.
) and your child was involved in a situation like this. I just hope that Ross is held accountable for his actions and that Renee's family gets the closure they deserve