- Details
- By Levi Rickert
A 37-year-old Minneapolis resident was shot and killed by a federal immigration agent early Saturday during a controversial enforcement operation, marking another deadly escalation in a months-long standoff between local communities and the federal government.
The man was identified by family and officials as Alex Jeffrey Pretti, an ICU nurse and longtime Minneapolis resident. He was fatally shot by a U.S. Border Patrol agent during what federal officials described as an immigration enforcement action.
Federal officials said agents were targeting a suspect when Pretti allegedly approached them with a handgun and resisted attempts to disarm him, prompting what they described as “defensive shots” from an officer.
However, bystander video and multiple eyewitness accounts appear to show Pretti holding a cellphone — not a firearm — before a physical altercation and the subsequent shots were fired.
The shooting occurred near Nicollet Avenue and West 26th Street in south Minneapolis, an area already tense following recent protests against federal immigration enforcement activity.
The killing marks at least the third recent shooting involving federal immigration agents in Minneapolis in just a few weeks, following a Jan. 7 incident in which an ICE officer killed Renée Good and another earlier confrontation.
Public reaction and protests
The shooting triggered hundreds of protesters to gather in freezing temperatures, shouting at federal agents and clashing with law enforcement. Federal agents used crowd-control measures, including tear gas and other chemical irritants, as tensions escalated.
Calls for federal agents to leave the city grew louder as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz condemned the shooting as “sickening” and demanded the withdrawal of thousands of federal immigration personnel currently operating in the state.
Walz said he spoke directly with the White House and criticized the operation, saying Minnesota had “had it” with what he described as violent and poorly trained officers.
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Tina Smith, called the killing the result of what she described as a “reckless paramilitary force” operating in the Twin Cities.
“ICE has shot and killed another Minnesotan,” Flanagan said in a statement. “A man was killed today because a reckless paramilitary force has been released on American streets against its own citizens. Everyone should be outraged. We need Trump to remove ICE from Minnesota immediately. Stop killing us.”
Political fallout
The fatal shooting has quickly become a flashpoint in the broader national debate over immigration enforcement, federal authority and local control.
Republican leaders, including House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, said they were relieved federal officers were not harmed but did not directly address concerns about the use of lethal force.
Democratic officials and civil rights advocates said the federal response has been heavy-handed and dangerously unaccountable, with local leaders saying they were not given full access to information about the incident.
Ongoing investigation
Minnesota officials said they will pursue their own investigation into the shooting, though local law enforcement said they were initially blocked from the scene by federal agents.
The Department of Homeland Security said it is also investigating.
As of Saturday evening, authorities had not released body-camera footage or a full timeline of events leading up to the shooting. Family members, community advocates and elected officials are calling for accountability and transparency.
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