The family of Renée Nicole Good has released the findings of an independent autopsy commissioned as part of a civil investigation into her death, confirming that the 37-year-old poet and mother of three was struck by multiple gunshots fired by an ICE officer in Minneapolis earlier this month.

According to the Chicago-based law firm Romanucci & Blandin, which represents Good’s family, the private autopsy found that she sustained three gunshot wounds: one to her left forearm, one passing through her right breast, and a fatal shot that entered the left side of her temple and exited the other side of her head. A possible fourth wound may have resulted from a bullet grazing her body. The findings are consistent with observations made by Minneapolis Fire Department personnel who responded to the scene and found Good bleeding in the driver’s seat of her SUV.

Good was killed on January 7 during what Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem described as “targeted operations” conducted by ICE. Federal officials have claimed that Good attempted to run over officers, with Noem characterising her actions as “domestic terrorism” and the officers’ response as self-defence.

However, video footage, eyewitness accounts and now autopsy reports appear to contradict those claims. The footage shows Renée Good attempting to turn right and leave the area when an ICE agent, identified as 43-year-old Jonathan Ross, moved in front of her vehicle, circled to the driver’s side and opened fire into the window. After the shooting, the vehicle struck a nearby light post while Ross walked away uninjured. Footage recorded by Ross himself reportedly shows he was not in the path of the vehicle and captured him using a derogatory slur immediately after firing.

The Department of Justice has confiscated Good’s vehicle, preventing her family’s lawyers from examining it. Antonio M. Romanucci, one of the firm’s founding partners, said repeated requests to preserve and access the vehicle have gone unanswered. “That vehicle is critical evidence,” Romanucci said, adding that the lack of access raises serious concerns about transparency.

Romanucci & Blandin, whose legal team previously represented the family of George Floyd, has been retained by Good’s wife, parents and siblings. The firm is preparing civil claims against ICE, the federal government and other parties it deems responsible.

Meanwhile, the Justice Department has launched an investigation into Good’s widow, Becca, rather than into Ross. The move has reportedly led to the resignation of six prosecutors in protest, further fuelling controversy around the federal response to Good’s killing.