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A sign for 37-year-old Alex Pretti, who was fatally shot by a U.S. Border Patrol officer earlier in the day, is displayed during a vigil Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Minneapolis.
Adam Gray/AP
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Adam Gray/AP
Tensions are escalating in Minneapolis after Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a U.S. citizen, was killed during an encounter with immigration officials on Saturday morning.
Immigration officials said Pretti was shot several times shortly after 9 a.m. local time when federal officers were conducting a targeted operation against a different man who was undocumented and wanted for assault.
Here is what to know.
The victim was an ICU nurse who loved the outdoors
Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident and an ICU nurse, has been identified by officials as the shooting victim.
The victim’s father Michael Pretti told the Associated Press his son had participated in the protests because he “cared about people deeply and he was very upset with what was happening in Minneapolis and throughout the United States with ICE, as millions of other people are upset.”
His mother, Susan Pretti, told the AP her son was passionate about the environment and “took his dog everywhere he went.”
Neighbors were also shocked by his death. Jeanne Wiener, who lived next door to Pretti, told MPR News that she would chat with him when he was walking his dog around their Lyndale neighborhood.
“He was a calm person; he’s a nurse,” Wiener said Saturday. “I’m mad. I’m angry. This was a good person. This is not a violent person.”
Dr. Dimitri Drekonja, who worked at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center with Pretti, remembered him as an “incredibly competent person” who was good at his job.
“There is no reason for a guy like that to be dead, let alone to be killed by the agents of a government that employed him,” Drekonja also told MPR News, adding that Pretti was a sweet, kind man who loved the outdoors and mountain biking.
Pretti’s parents said they were “sickened” by Trump administration officials suggesting their son was a “domestic terrorist.”
Federal officials defended Border Patrol Agents
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem defended the officers’ actions on Saturday and said they “acted according to their training.” Noem also accused Pretti of “brandishing” his weapon and that he “attacked” officers.
“This looks like a situation where an individual arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement,” Noem told reporters during a press conference.
Officials said Pretti had a 9mm semiautomatic handgun with him.
Gregory Bovino, a Border Patrol commander, said the officer who fired shots was “highly trained” and has worked as a Border Patrol agent for the last eight years. Bovino said the shooting remains under investigation.
Bystander videos don’t support key details from government
Bystander videos posted on social media appear to contradict DHS’ account of the shooting.
Footage appears to show Pretti being surrounded by multiple federal agents, with several restraining him and punching him while he is on the ground before he is shot. Multiple rounds of gunfire can be heard as Pretti lies on the ground.
So far, there has been no video showing that Pretti brandished or tried to use the firearm that federal officials said he had in his possession.
Minneapolis officials are questioning the DHS account
Pretti had no criminal record and his only known interaction with police involved traffic tickets, according to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara. He also was a lawful gun owner with a permit to legally carry a gun, O’Hara also said on Saturday.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said during a press conference he plans to seek a temporary restraining order from a judge on Monday that would grant “immediate relief” to stop the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Frey also said he sent a request to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for assistance from the National Guard to support “the limited number of officers that we have in the Minneapolis Police Department.”
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar condemned the shooting and called for immigration officers to leave the state.
“Our message is really clear and straightforward. We need ICE out of Minnesota,” Klobuchar said during a press conference. “They are not making us more safe, as the tragic, tragic killing this morning, as people saw it viscerally on that video shows us, they are making us less safe.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called the shooting “sickening” and said the state “has had it” in a social media post on Saturday. Walz said he spoke with the White House about the shooting and said “the President must end this operation.”
Walz also said he was glad there was footage of the incident, saying: “Thank God, thank God, we have video because, according to DHS, these seven heroic guys took an onslaught of a battalion against them or something. It’s nonsense, people. It is nonsense, and it’s lies.”
This is the third ICE-related shooting in Minneapolis
It is the second killing involving federal immigration officers in Minneapolis this month after ICE officers shot Renee Macklin Good on Jan. 7 in her SUV as she drove away after partially blocking a Minneapolis street.
In another incident, Julio Cesar Sosa-Celia, a Venezuelan national, was shot in the leg by immigration officers during an altercation with those agents.
NPR’s Cheryl W. Thompson contributed to this report.
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