37-year-old US citizen shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis | Minneapolis
On Saturday, U.S. federal law enforcement officers shot and killed a U.S. citizen in Minneapolis for the second time in less than three weeks.
The Saturday morning killing of U.S. citizen Alex Pretti, 37, comes after Renee Nicole Good, also a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, was shot and killed on Jan. 7 by a federal immigration agent in Minneapolis, with video showing her trying to walk away from a confrontation sparking protests across the country.
City and local police officials said in their statement that Pretti’s shooting happened in the area of West 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue. He asked “the public to remain calm”.
Pretti was a registered nurse working in the intensive care unit at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System, which serves veterans.
Greg Bovino, commander of the U.S. Border Patrol, said at a news conference that an officer with eight years of experience with the agency shot Pretti on Saturday.
A video circulating online Saturday shows Pretti being tackled to the ground by several law enforcement officers before reportedly being shot multiple times. At least two officers can be seen with their weapons drawn.
More extensive video of the shooting, obtained and posted online by Drop Site News, shows Pretti appearing to defend an observer who was pushed to the ground by a federal officer. This officer then sprayed Pretti with a chemical agent several times, before taking him out into the street with other officers.
At least five officers surrounded Pretti on the ground, one of whom appeared to fire one shot at him at point-blank range, followed by a volley of more gunshots.
Open source experts began analyzing the apparent video evidence online and at least one analyst suggested that the initial video showed Pretti having a gun taken from him before the shots were fired. Visual evidence from the second video appears consistent with the interpretation that a gun appears to have been carried by one officer just before another shot him.
In a statement, Tricia McLaughlin, deputy secretary of Homeland Security, said the shooting occurred around 9:05 a.m. local time “while … agents were conducting a targeted operation in Minneapolis” against a person they said was in the country illegally and was wanted for assault. McLaughlin’s statement said “an individual approached U.S. Border Patrol agents with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun” and “agents attempted to disarm him.”
McLaughlin’s statement accused Pretti of “resisting” and, without elaborating, noted that “more details on the armed struggle would be forthcoming.”
“Fearing for his life as well as that of his fellow officers, an officer fired defensive shots,” she said. “Doctors on scene immediately provided medical aid to the subject, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.”
She added that the man later identified as Pretti also had “2 magazines and no ID.”
Eliot Higgins, founder of the open source investigative media outlet Bellingcat, observed on Bluesky that it was difficult to take the Trump administration’s claims in the wake of Good’s shooting at face value.
“Treat claims from the US government and ICE like you would treat a claim from the Russian government after they shot down a jetliner or bombed a hospital,” Higgins wrote. “America 2026”.
McLaughlin’s statement was later echoed by Kristi Noem, the secretary of Homeland Security, who suggested during a press conference Saturday evening that Pretti had confronted the officers with his gun.
“An individual approached U.S. Border Patrol agents with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun. Agents attempted to disarm this individual, but the armed suspect responded violently,” Noem said, despite video evidence clearly showing an unarmed Pretti being beaten.
Noem continued, “This appears to be a situation where an individual arrived on scene to inflict maximum damage and kill law enforcement.”
At a news conference, Brian O’Hara, the Minneapolis police chief, said Pretti lived in Minneapolis, was a U.S. citizen and his only known prior interaction with law enforcement involved traffic tickets. O’Hara also said Pretti was a legal gun owner with a carry permit. Minnesota law allows citizens to obtain a permit to carry a handgun in public. The law does not require concealment of these weapons.
O’Hara also said, “Our request today is that federal agencies operating in our city do so with the same discipline, humanity and integrity that effective law enforcement requires.”
“We urge everyone to remain peaceful and recognize that there is a lot of anger and questions around what happened. »
In a statement, the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus echoed O’Hara in saying that “the critical facts remain unknown.” However, the caucus statement said the group is “deeply concerned about the shooting death of Alex Pretti.”
“According to local authorities, the man was legally armed, a firearm was found at the scene and it appears he was a legal gun owner and permit holder,” the release said. “No evidence has been produced indicating any intent to harm the police officers. We call for a full and transparent investigation by state and federal authorities. Every peaceful citizen of Minnesota has the right to keep and bear arms – including when attending protests, acting as an observer, or exercising their First Amendment rights,” which include the right to assembly.
“These rights do not disappear when someone is legally armed, and they must be respected and protected at all times,” the statement continued.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said in a statement shortly after the shooting that he had spoken with the White House.
“Minnesota has had enough,” said Walz, who was Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election that she lost to Donald Trump. “It’s sickening.
“The president needs to end this operation,” Walz also said, referring to the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration enforcement operation in the state. “Get thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now.”
In another statement, Walz said he told the White House that “the state must lead the investigation.”
“Let’s let state investigators ensure justice,” he said. “While we process the scene, please remain peaceful and give them space. The state has the personnel necessary to keep people safe – federal agents must not hinder our ability to do so.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey spoke at a press conference Saturday afternoon and asked the current administration, “How many more residents, how many more Americans need to die or be seriously injured for this operation to end?”
“How many more lives must be lost before this administration realizes that a political, partisan narrative is not as important as American values?
Speaking directly to the president, Frey said: “This is the time to act like a leader. Put Minneapolis, put America first right now. Let’s achieve peace. Let’s end this operation. And I tell you, our city will come back. Safety will be restored. We ask you to act now to remove these federal agents.”
Frey later announced that the city of Minneapolis was “filing a statement to press for an immediate ruling on our temporary restraining order.”
“We need rapid action to protect our city,” Frey said in a public statement, before adding that he had “formally requested assistance from the National Guard to support our 600 Minneapolis police officers” and that “community service officers are delivering food to residents who are afraid to leave their homes. The city is providing legal resources and neighborhood resource centers are there to support families.”
The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from the Minnesota National Guard on Saturday, due to what it described as “the potential for continued and escalating conflict related to the current shooting involving federal agents.”
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) said the BCA Force Investigative Unit was tasked by Minneapolis police to investigate Saturday’s federal officer-involved shooting in Minneapolis, in a statement released Saturday afternoon. BCA also said its agents and crime scene personnel attempted to gain access to the scene but “were blocked” by DHS personnel on scene.
Trump also reacted to the shooting, blaming and criticizing local Minnesota lawmakers for the shooting. His lengthy statement included a photo of the gun and accusations that the Minneapolis mayor and Walz were “inciting insurrection” with their rhetoric.
“LET OUR ICE PATRIOTS DO THEIR WORK!” » said the president.
Another deadly shooting by federal agents is likely to reignite Democrats’ anger over a decision this week by seven Democratic members of the House of Representatives to vote to extend funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which includes Immigration and Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis.
Angela Conley, a local county commissioner, wrote on Saturday about X claiming to have “witnessed… a cold-blooded murder.”
“Get them out,” Conley said. “Take them out now.”
Ken Martin, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, a native of Minnesota, posted on X in response to Saturday’s shooting: “What is really happening in this country?
Live video from the scene after the shooting shows dozens of federal agents surrounding the scene and a tense standoff with hundreds of protesters who gathered in the area after the shooting as local police tried to secure the area for crime scene investigators to enter. Officers were seen deploying what appeared to be chemical irritants on the crowd. People were seen yelling at officers, honking their horns and recording.
McLaughlin said “crowd control measures were deployed for the safety of the public and law enforcement.”
She described the situation as “evolving and more information will be available soon”.
In a statement released Saturday afternoon, Minneapolis city officials asked community members “who wish to protest to continue to do so safely, and we advise them to stay away from the scene at this time.”
“Your right to protest is protected, but vandalism and violence are not,” they said. “Your safety is paramount.”
The deadly shootings of Good and Pretti occurred more than five years after Minneapolis witnessed the killing of George Floyd by local police, which was recorded on a cellphone and sparked protests around the world.
Ramon Antonio Vargas, Rachel Leingang And Edward Helmore contributed reports
