Did ICE agent who fatally shot Renee Good have ‘internal bleeding’? What we know

One week after a federal immigration agent fatally shot Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, CBS News reported (archived) that the agent suffered “internal bleeding to the torso following the incident,” citing two unnamed U.S. officials who were “briefed on his medical condition.” A CBS News X post (archived) with the report received upwards of 100 million views, as of this writing.

Many people critical of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) online (archived, archived) claimed “internal bleeding” was merely a medical term for a bruise. Dozens of Snopes readers also raised questions about what “internal bleeding” meant in this case.

A bruise is a form of internal bleeding — but not all internal bleeding results in a bruise. Internal bleeding varies in severity. On the minor end, a bruise may be localized and superficial. Extreme cases of internal bleeding can be life-threatening.

At the time of this writing, little was publicly known about the severity of the agent’s alleged injuries. In an email to Snopes, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official confirmed CBS News’ reporting that the agent, identified as Jonathan Ross, suffered internal bleeding without elaborating on what that meant.

Because we were unable to find any corroborating evidence (such as a statement from the agent’s physician, medical documents, scans or other images) to independently verify the reports about the agent’s injuries, we did not put a rating on this article. We break down our findings below.

What we know about CBS News’ report

CBS’ report that the agent suffered internal bleeding cited two unnamed officials. Snopes was unable to independently verify their claim. Without identifying information, we are unable to track down sources in news reports to ask them questions ourselves.

The CBS report said the internal bleeding was “to the torso,” but did not specify whether it resulted in only superficial discoloration (a bruise), moderate internal bleeding or more severe, life-threatening internal bleeding.

According to The Guardian (archived), several unnamed staff members at CBS News expressed concerns leading up to the report’s publication about the fact that it relied on anonymous sources. 

One CBS News staffer reportedly told The Guardian there was “huge internal concern,” and CBS News Senior Vice President David Reiter allegedly said in an internal email, “I’m no doctor, but internal bleeding is a very broad term and can range in severity.” (Snopes has not independently verified this reporting by The Guardian.)

The severity of the agent’s alleged injuries is unknown

The DHS claimed (archived) the agent shot Good in defense, “fearing for his life,” after Good supposedly “weaponized her vehicle.” Activists, journalists and politicians have scrutinized that account, pointing to credible footage that appears to show Good’s car turned away from the agent when he shot her. 

It remained unclear, as of this writing, whether Good’s car made contact with the agent, as DHS maintained. Neither the New York Times nor the Minnesota Star Tribune ruled out that possibility in their analyses of footage.

A DHS official told Snopes via email that Ross suffered internal bleeding but did not provide any additional information regarding the type or severity of the bleeding.

The department also pointed to comments by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem at a news conference on Jan. 7, the day of the shooting. She said: “The officer was hit by the vehicle. [Good] hit him. He went to the hospital. A doctor did treat him. He has been released.” 

Noem made this comment at approximately 5:21 p.m. CT, according to a timestamp on Fox News’ live broadcast of the news conference. According to this timeline, the agent went to the hospital to receive medical treatment and was released within about eight hours. 

We reached out to several medical professionals seeking insight into what this time frame could tell us about the severity of the agent’s alleged internal bleeding. We will update this story if we receive a response. 

‘Internal bleeding’ is a broad medical term

In videos taken shortly after the agent shot Good, he appeared to walk without obvious difficulty. Viewers of that footage on social media framed it as evidence of him suffering minor, or no, injuries in the confrontation.

However, that footage was not definitive proof Ross did not suffer internal bleeding. According to guidance by the Red Cross on treating internal bleeding injuries, symptoms are not always obvious right away:

Will internal bleeding be obvious right away?

Not all the time. While you may see the signs and symptoms quickly after the injury, it may not be immediately obvious. Seemingly minor trauma can cause internal bleeding, and signs and symptoms may not be seen until hours or days after the initial injury.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, “internal bleeding” is a broad term identifying injuries in which broken blood vessels cause blood to pool under the surface of the skin (hemorrhaging). 

Hemorrhaging can range in severity. In one of its milder forms, internal bleeding can result in superficial, visible markings on the surface of the skin (bruises). 

Depending on the location of the hemorrhage, severe internal bleeding can cause difficulty breathing, organ failure and even death. 

The most common cause of internal bleeding is blunt force trauma, “like from a vehicle accident or other blunt force or penetrating trauma,” according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Sources