37-year-old US citizen shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis

 

37-year-old US citizen shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis

 

Shooting of Alex Pretti comes less than three weeks after Renee Nicole Good was killed by immigration agents in city

 

Anna Betts and Robert Mackey

Sun 25 Jan 2026 02.19 CET

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/24/minneapolis-shooting-federal-agents

 

US federal law enforcement officers on Saturday fatally shot an American citizen in Minneapolis, the second such killing in less than three weeks.

 

The killing of US citizen Alex Pretti, 37, comes after Renee Good, also a 37-year-old American citizen, was shot dead on 7 January by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis, with video showing her trying to drive away from a confrontation, sparking protests nationwide.

 

City and local police officials said the shooting of Pretti occurred in the area of West 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue. It 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, the US border patrol commander, said at a news conference that an officer with eight years of experience at the agency shot and killed Pretti.

 

A video circulating online shows Pretti being wrestled to the ground by several law enforcement officers before being shot what appears to be several times. At least two officers can be seen with their weapons drawn.

 

A more comprehensive video of the shooting, obtained and posted online by Drop Site News, shows that Pretti appeared to come to the defense of an observer who was shoved to the ground by a federal officer. That officer then sprays Pretti with a chemical agent, repeatedly, before tackling him to the street along with other agents.

 

At least five agents surround Pretti on the ground. One appears to fire a shot at him at close range, followed by a volley of more shots.

 

Open-source experts have begun to parse the apparent video evidence online, and at least one analyst suggested the initial video shows Pretti had a gun taken away from him before the shots were fired. The visual evidence in the second video seems consistent with the interpretation that a gun appeared to have been taken away by one agent just before another shot him.

 

In a statement, Alex Pretti’s parents urged the media to “get the truth out about our son”.

 

“We are heartbroken, but also very angry,” said Michael and Susan Pretti, in a statement read aloud on local news channel KARE 11. “Alex was a kind-hearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital.

 

“Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately, he will not be with us to see his impact.”

 

Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant homeland security secretary, said the shooting occurred at about 9.05am local time “as … officers were conducting a targeted operation in Minneapolis” against a person they said was present in the country illegally and was wanted for assault. McLaughlin’s statement said “an individual approached US border patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun”, and that “officers attempted to disarm” him.

 

McLaughlin accused Pretti of having “resisted” and, without elaborating, said “more details on the armed struggle are forthcoming”.

 

She added Pretti also had “2 magazines and no ID”.

 

Eliot Higgins, the founder of the open-source investigative outlet Bellingcat, said on Bluesky it was hard to take the Trump administration’s claims at face value in the wake of the Good shooting.

 

“Treat the US government and ICE claims like you’d treat a Russian government claim after they’ve shot down an airliner or bombed a hospital,” Higgins wrote. “America 2026.”

 

McLaughlin’s statement was later echoed by Kristi Noem, the secretary of homeland security, who suggested Pretti confronted officers with his gun.

 

“An individual approached US border patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun. The officers attempted to disarm this individual, but the armed suspect reacted violently,” Noem said, despite video evidence clearly showing an unarmed Pretti being beaten.

 

Noem continued: “This looks like a situation where an individual arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage and kill law enforcement.”

 

At a news briefing, Brian O’Hara, the Minneapolis police chief, said Pretti lived in Minneapolis, was an American citizen, and that his only known previous interaction with law enforcement has been for traffic tickets. O’Hara also said Pretti was a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry. Minnesota law allows citizens to obtain permits to carry handguns in public. The law does not require the concealment of those weapons.

 

O’Hara also said: “Our demand today is for those federal agencies operating in our city to do so with the same discipline, humanity and integrity that effective law enforcement demands.

 

“We urge everyone to remain peaceful and recognize there is a lot of anger and questions around what has happened.”

 

In a statement, the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus echoed O’Hara in saying “critical facts remain unknown”. However, the group said it was “deeply concerned about the shooting death of Alex Pretti”.

 

“According to local officials, the man was legally armed, a firearm was recovered at the scene, and he is believed to have been a lawful gun owner and permit to carry holder,” the statement said. “There has been no evidence produced indicating an intent to harm the officers. We are calling for a full and transparent investigation by both state and federal authorities. Every peaceable Minnesotan has the right to keep and bear arms – including while attending protests, acting as observers, or exercising their first amendment rights” – which include the right to assembly.

 

“These rights do not disappear when someone is lawfully armed, and they must be respected and protected at all times,” the statement continued.

 

Minnesota’s governor, Tim Walz, said in a statement shortly after the shooting that he had spoken to the White House.

 

“Minnesota has had it,” said Walz, who was Kamala Harris’s running mate in the 2024 presidential election. “This is sickening.

 

“The president must end this operation,” Walz also said, referring to the administration’s immigration enforcement operation in the state. “Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now.”

 

In another statement, Walz said he told the White House “the state must lead the investigation”.

 

“Let state investigators secure justice,” he said. “As we process the scene, stay peaceful and give them space. The state has the personnel to keep people safe – federal agents must not obstruct our ability to do so.”

 

Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey spoke at a press conference and asked the current administration: “How many more residents, how many more Americans, need to die or get badly hurt for this operation to end? How many more lives need to be lost before this administration realizes that a political and partisan narrative is not as important as American values?”

 

Appealing to the president directly, Frey said: “This is a moment to act like a leader. Put Minneapolis, put America first in this moment. Let’s achieve peace. Let’s end this operation. And I’m telling you, our city will come back. Safety will be restored. We’re asking for you to take action now to remove these federal agents.”

 

Frey later announced Minneapolis was “filing a declaration to push for an immediate ruling on our temporary restraining order”.

 

“We need swift action to protect our city,” Frey said in a public statement. He added he had “formally requested national guard assistance to support our 600 Minneapolis police officers” and that “community service officers are delivering food to residents afraid to leave home. The city is providing legal resources, and neighborhood resource centers are here to support families.”

 

On Saturday, the Hennepin county sheriff’s office requested assistance from the Minnesota national guard, due to what it described as “the potential for continuing and growing conflict related to today’s federal agent-involved shooting”.

 

The Minnesota department of public safety’s bureau of criminal apprehension (BCA) said that the BCA force investigations unit had been requested by Minneapolis police to investigate Saturday’s federal agent-involved shooting in Minneapolis in a statement on Saturday afternoon. The BCA also said its agents and crime scene personnel had attempted to access the location but “were blocked” by DHS personnel at the scene.

 

Trump also reacted to the shooting, blaming and criticizing local Minnesota lawmakers. His lengthy statement included a photo of the gun and accusations that Minneapolis’s mayor and Walz were “inciting Insurrection” with their rhetoric.

 

“LET OUR ICE PATRIOTS DO THEIR JOB!” the president said.

 

Another deadly shooting by federal agents is likely to renew anger among Democrats over the decision this week by seven Democratic members of the US House to vote to extend funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which includes the immigration and border patrol agents in Minneapolis.

 

Angela Conley, a local county commissioner, wrote on Saturday on X claiming to have “witnessed … cold-blooded murder”.

 

“Get them out,” Conley said. “Get them out now.”

 

Ken Martin, the Democratic National Committee chair, who is from Minnesota, posted on X in response to Saturday’s shooting: “What the actual fuck is going on in this country?”

 

Live video of the scene after the shooting showed dozens of federal agents surrounding the scene, and a tense confrontation with hundreds of protesters who gathered in the area following the shooting as local police attempted to secure the area for crime scene investigators to move in. The agents deployed what appeared to be chemical irritants into the crowd. People yelled at agents, honked horns and recorded videos.

 

McLaughlin of homeland security said “crowd-control measures were deployed for the safety of the public and law enforcement”.

 

She described the situation as “evolving, and more information is forthcoming”.

 

In a statement, officials with the city of Minneapolis asked community members “who wish to demonstrate to continue to do so safely, and we advise staying away from the scene at this time”.

 

“Your right to protest is protected; however, vandalism and violence is not,” they said. “Your safety is paramount.”

 

The deadly shootings of Good and Pretti happened more than five years after Minneapolis witnessed local police’s murder of George Floyd, which was recorded on a cell phone and ignited worldwide protests.

 

Ramon Antonio Vargas, Rachel Leingang, Edward Helmore and Victoria Bekiempis contributed reporting