Who Is Jonathan Ross? ICE Officer Who Shot Renee Nicole Good Identified

The veil of anonymity surrounding the federal agent involved in the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good on Wednesday, 7 January, has finally been lifted. For days, government officials resisted calls for transparency, citing the officer's and his family's safety amid heightened political tension.

However, investigative reports have now confirmed the veteran agent's identity as Jonathan Ross, a figure with a complex professional history that has recently come under intense public scrutiny.

Who is Jonathan Ross?

Jonathan Ross is a 46-year-old resident of north-east Minneapolis who has served as a federal immigration agent for more than a decade. He is a member of the Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) special response team, an elite unit within Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The team requires rigorous selection, including 30 hours of specialised tryouts and ongoing training to maintain expert marksman qualifications with firearms.

Before his career with ICE, records suggest Ross may have served in the military. Publicly available social media posts from family members appear to show Ross during a deployment in Iraq, where he is seen carrying an assault weapon.

Following his time abroad, he reportedly lived near Fort Bliss in New Mexico before settling in Minnesota, per The Newsweek.

Tricia McLaughlin Opposes Public Identification

The public has called out the administration to release the identity of the officer who shot Good, claiming that she was murdered. The White House, however, remained adamant that the ICE officer's identity remain private because he was just doing his job and shooting Good was a self-defence.

Tricia McLaughlin, the DHS Assistant Secretary, had previously issued statements arguing that the officer should remain anonymous to protect him from potential retaliation. She described the act of publishing the identities of federal agents as reckless behaviour, insisting the officer only acted 'according to his training.'

'We are not going to expose the name of this officer. He acted according to his training,' McLaughlin said in a statement to the Guardian.

She pointed out that federal agents are facing a significant surge in death threats as they perform their duties under the current administration's expanded enforcement policies. The DHS has expressed concern that identifying officers could alienate the law enforcement community from the public they serve.

Dragging Trauma

Public interest in Ross has been amplified by an incident that occurred in June 2025. During an attempted arrest in Bloomington, Ross was severely injured when a suspect allegedly used a vehicle to flee the scene. The agent's arm became trapped in the car window, and he was dragged for approximately 100 yards before being thrown clear.

This encounter left Ross with deep lacerations that required 33 stitches to his arms and hand.

Federal officials, including Vice President JD Vance, have alluded to this trauma when discussing the agent's mindset during the shooting of Renee Nicole Good.

'This is a guy who's actually done a very, very important job for the United States of America,' Vance said (via Newsweek). 'He's been assaulted. He's been attacked. He's been injured because of it.'

Fatal Shooting Of Renee Nicole Good

The fatal encounter with Good took place on a Wednesday morning during a targeted federal operation in south Minneapolis. Video footage captured by bystanders shows Ross approaching Good's red SUV before discharging several rounds from his pistol.

One of the bullets reportedly struck Good in the face, leading to her death at the scene. While the Trump administration has labelled Good's actions as 'domestic terrorism,' local leaders and witnesses have challenged this narrative.

They argue that the video evidence does not show an immediate threat to the officer's life. However, his past trauma may have played a role in his reaction during the incident.

Also, in contrast to Trump's claim that the officer was injured, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara clarified that only one person was injured during the encounter, and it was Good.