Alex Pretti Shot and Killed By ICE Agents

On Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, U.S. immigration agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old man, in Minneapolis during an enforcement operation taking place there. Pretti, who was an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center, was part of a group of protesters and bystanders near Nicollet Avenue in southern Minneapolis when federal Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers moved in to make arrests. Federal officials later said that a U.S. Border Patrol agent fired because Pretti “approached” officers with a handgun and violently resisted while they tried to disarm him. Multiple verified videos taken during the incident contradict this info, showing that Pretti was holding up a cell phone and appearing to record the scene, and then being grabbed, pepper-sprayed, and pinned down by several agents before shots were fired. At least 10 shots were fired in about five seconds. Pretti immediately collapsed and was declared dead at the scene.

Video and witness accounts helped document the minutes before the incident. He was first seen holding his phone near federal agents detaining people on the street, then officers proceeded to push and pepper-spray him as they dealt with another detainee. Soon after, one agent appeared to remove a handgun from Pretti’s waistband before the first shot was fired, triggering more in quick succession and killing Pretti. An officer in a grey jacket then emerged holding Pretti’s pistol, saying, “I got the gun,” and Pretti is officially declared dead, after which federal agents quickly leave the area. Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) chief Drew Evans said that agents temporarily blocked local state investigators from examining the scene until local authorities obtained a warrant and entered the site the following day. Pretti’s handgun was registered, and he held a legal permit to carry a concealed firearm, as Minnesota is an open-carry state.

The shooting has resulted in multiple investigations. The Biden White House said the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is investigating the incident along with the FBI, while CBP is currently conducting an internal review. At a briefing on Sunday, Jan. 25, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the FBI was assisting in the investigation. but said that the outcome would largely be based on facts. FBI director Kash Patel told Fox News the FBI is “processing physical evidence,” including Pretti’s gun, at its crime lab. So far, no decision on a civil rights prosecution has been announced.

Meanwhile, federal officials have defended the shooting. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said her agents believed Pretti was “brandishing” a 9mm handgun with the intent to harm officers. Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino claimed the agent likely prevented a “massacre” by stopping Pretti. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin issued a statement saying agents fired “defensive shots” after Pretti “violently resisted” attempts to disarm him. State and local officials have strongly disputed this. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara confirmed the murder of a 37-year-old man but said little about what led up to the shooting. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, the local prosecutor, filed a federal lawsuit on the day of the shooting to stop DHS from destroying evidence, claiming that state law enforcement has jurisdiction to review the case. 

County attorney Mary Moriarty said, “We will do everything within our authority to achieve transparency and accountability,” and said, “our office has jurisdiction to review this matter for potential criminal conduct by the federal agents.” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said that “federal agents are not above the law and Alex Pretti is certainly not beneath it,” demanding a “full, impartial, and transparent investigation.” Former CBP chief Gil Kerlikowski said that it is unusual that Homeland Security Investigations is leading the probe, and that the Department of Justice (DOJ)’s Civil Rights Division has not given any signs that it will seek criminal charges, as it did in some past federal-civilian shootings.

The shooting has further intensified high tensions in Minneapolis. By the day following the shooting, hundreds of people gathered at the scene, laying flowers and holding vigils. State officials sent the National Guard to help local police during daily protests, and protesters have chanted Pretti’s name and insisted that U.S. agents be held accountable for their actions. At one rally, speakers called for sit-ins at Congress to defund ICE. Local leaders in Minnesota condemned the shooting. Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey said at a press conference, “How many more residents, how many more Americans, need to die or get badly hurt for this operation to end?”  He called the federal presence an “invasion of our streets” by agents and urged President Trump to “put Minneapolis…first” and remove the agents. Bloomington mayor Tim Busse said in a written statement, “It is imperative that local, state, and federal leaders work together to de-escalate the current environment.” Governor Tim Walz (D-Minn.) also criticized federal actions, saying he was baffled that officers could “shoot and kill someone on Minnesota’s streets and simply walk away” without accountability. Walz said online that federal narratives about the incident were “lies” and called the operation “chaos” that “isn’t following the rule of law.” President Trump said he had a “very good call” with Walz and dispatched his border czar, Tom Homan, to Minnesota to look at the situation. In interviews, the President declined to judge the officer’s actions, saying he wants “the facts”  but also questioned why anyone would carry a loaded gun to a protest. Civil rights and community groups, like the NAACP, have also denounced the shooting and demanded justice. Attorneys for immigrants have sought info on federal tactics, and the state is also seeking legal action; a federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Jan. 26 to preserve all evidence related to the shooting, after the state’s attorney general and BCA filed suit for that purpose. Democrats have called for hearings in Congress, and many state and local officials, both Democrats and Republicans, have expressed concern over the aggressive operations by ICE and border patrol in Minneapolis.

Alex Pretti’s family, friends, and co-workers remember him as a compassionate ICU nurse, outdoorsman, and community member whose death has caused widespread grief and demands for accountability in Minneapolis and beyond, with people holding vigils and rallies honoring him as residents and officials mourn his passing. His parents released a statement after the shooting, saying they were, “heartbroken but also very angry,” that they rejected the “sickening lies told about our son by the administration,” and that Pretti was a “good man.” He is survived by his family in Wisconsin and his group of friends and co-workers in Minneapolis.

Sources: AP News, ABC News, The Guardian, governing.com, lmtonline.com, hennepinattorney.org, bloomingtonmn.gov, ABC News Channel 9.