Interfaith Vigil at Louisville’s Joe Creason Park Honors Two People Killed in Recent DHS Shootings
Dozens gather after venue change, calling for accountability and community support
Dozens of people assembled Friday night at Joe Creason Park in Louisville for an interfaith candlelight vigil honoring individuals killed during recent federal immigration enforcement actions carried out under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The gathering came after organizers shifted plans from an indoor setting at St. Agnes Catholic Church to an outdoor event, with participants forming a close circle in cold conditions as clergy and community members led prayers and reflections.
The vigil was organized by U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey of Kentucky’s 3rd Congressional District. Speakers described the event as both a memorial for those killed and a show of support for immigrant and mixed-status families who say they are living with heightened fear amid stepped-up enforcement actions in multiple U.S. cities.
Who the vigil honored
Participants focused on two U.S. citizens whose deaths have drawn national attention:
Renée Nicole Macklin Good, 37, who was fatally shot in Minneapolis on January 7, 2026, during an immigration-related operation involving an agent of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Alex Jeffrey Pretti, 37, a nurse employed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, who was shot and killed in Minneapolis on January 24, 2026, during a confrontation involving U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel amid protests and enforcement activity.
Investigations and disputed accounts
The Minneapolis incidents have generated competing descriptions of what occurred, with public debate shaped by official statements, witness accounts, and video footage circulating nationally. In Pretti’s case, the U.S. Department of Justice opened a federal civil rights investigation, with the FBI leading the inquiry. Reports on the available video have centered on whether Pretti posed an imminent threat at the moment he was shot, including scrutiny of claims related to a firearm.
Good’s death has also remained under scrutiny as details of the encounter and the circumstances that led to gunfire have been contested in public discussion.
Local context: A Louisville park becomes a focal point
Joe Creason Park, a centrally located Louisville Metro Parks site near Beargrass Creek, has frequently served as a gathering space for community events. On Friday, it became a setting for public mourning and calls for accountability, as religious leaders from different traditions emphasized remembrance, nonviolence, and the civic responsibilities of public institutions.
“We’ve had very high-profile deaths at the hands of federal agents, but there’s a lot of quiet terrors going on, too,” one faith leader told the crowd during the vigil.
What happens next
Organizers indicated the Louisville vigil was intended not only as a memorial, but as a signal that local residents are watching how federal authorities investigate and explain the use of lethal force. With federal investigations underway in at least one of the cases, further releases of investigative findings, witness statements, and official reviews are expected to shape public understanding of what happened and whether policy or disciplinary changes follow.