Shootings in Minnesota spark student-led Fairwood protest

Published 10:53 am Tuesday, February 3, 2026

Following the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minnesota, protests have popped up throughout the country, including student-led protests and walk-outs in Renton.

For 14-year-old London Drake of Northwood Middle School in Fairwood, what had happened to Good and Pretti was not only enough to inspire her to attend her first protest, but to organize one herself.

“I was hearing about Renee Good, and I was hearing about all the the children that were being deported and then also, I have two people at my school, their fathers got deported,” said Drake of the accumulation of events that called her to action.

Drake, who said she wants to be governor one day, also told the story of walking to school with friends who were worried about ICE taking them or their family members: “I had to walk [them] home every day because they were too scared to walk home alone.”

With the support of her parents April and David, Drake made signs and flyers, bought a bullhorn, and shared information with her friends on the place and time of the planned protest, which ended up being at the intersection of Southeast Petrovitsky Road and 140th Avenue Southeast in Fairwood on Friday, Jan. 30.

The protest day coincided with a grassroots-led “general strike” where U.S. residents were encouraged to take the day off from work and to abstain from buying anything in protest of the Trump administration.

The protest took place after 3 p.m. following a student walk-out at Northwood that lasted from 12:10 p.m. to 12:40 p.m. While only a handful of Northwood students and teachers actually attended the protest, close to 100 people showed up in support, which surprised Drake and her mother, April.

“I was counting and half of them were students, they were from 20 years old and younger,” April said.

The protest also included a member of Southend Indivisible, who taught the Drakes about basic protest safety and what precautions to take, and two veterans who were on the scene as medics. While April was surprised to see medics and someone acting as security, she learned that having them there was a necessity as an unidentified man pulled up in a truck and pepper-sprayed three people who were standing at the end of the protest line.

“Three senior citizens had been targeted and he apparently saw the line and he apparently targeted the end of the line. I don’t know if he noticed there were no kids there and he didn’t want to hurt children there, and just saw adults or if he thought there was no way of getting a photo of him. … I thought he was going for some low-hanging fruit,” said April Drake.

The medics were able to treat the two women and one man who were assaulted, and 911 was called, but the three victims had already left the scene by the time a King County Sheriff’s Office sergeant had arrived. According to the KCSO’s Brandyn Hull, no arrests have been made at this point and the case is ongoing.

Following the assault, the person acting as security went down the line and reminded the crowd of protest safety, including taking out contact lenses and raising your sign in front of your face as protection when a vehicle slows down in front of you.

“That’s when my mind shifted to, ‘This is not just a fun after school event, this is serious,’” said April.

Despite the assault, the protest continued on, and Drake said that she is not deterred from protesting again, which brings her parents pride.

“I feel super proud and I’m happy that she’s not just doom-scrolling all day,” said April. “I’m glad she’s putting her talents and her interests and her passions to good use. And I’m glad she’s inspiring other people, including me, to take action. Because who doesn’t want to when they hear about the killings?”

On Jan. 25, the day after Pretti was killed, Renton Mayor Armondo Pavone released a statement, saying that City Hall, Renton City Council and the Renton Police Department are “committed to supporting every member of our community and ensuring that everyone feels safe” and that “Renton police officers will never assist ICE or any federal agency with immigration enforcement.”

Leading up to the protest, Drake encouraged others to prepare songs to perform and to give speeches. She ended up orating two speeches to the crowd.

“For centuries, people of color in this country had been pushed down, treated cruelly and faced systemic barriers no white person could have ever understand. Today, ICE agents roam the streets, kidnapping U.S. citizens, and even killing. Trump has let all this slide, but we won’t stand for these heinous acts any longer. The American people need to stand up for what we believe in, fight for our friends, our family, our communities, and our rights as humans, because without immigrants, America is a sad place deprived of color and culture,” said Drake.

“I’m 14 years old. I’m not supposed to know fear like this, but every time ICE raids our streets, I hear the screams, the silence and the brokenness. They come in the dark like thieves, stealing more than just people. They steal hope, safety, and families. My neighbors aren’t criminals. They’re moms, dads, and kids just like me. Why are we punishing people for wanting a better life? For wanting to belong? For wanting to feel safe? These raids don’t protect us. They rip us apart. They make us strangers in our own homes. I’m tired of watching communities live in shadows. I’m tired of seeing my friends scared to walk home from school […] Stop the raids and stop the violence. We’re all human. We all deserve kindness, not fear. I’m just a kid, but I know this, no one should live in a terror in a place they call home.”