Fact check: Federal officials’ claims about fatal Minneapolis shooting

Federal officials on Saturday, Jan. 24, offered a forceful account of the fatal shooting of Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident who was killed by federal agents during immigration enforcement activity in south Minneapolis.

But several of the central claims made by federal officials remain unverified and are contradicted in part by video and witness accounts.

Border Patrol Cmdr. Greg Bovino and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, speaking hours apart, described the shooting as a justified act of self-defense during a violent encounter with an armed man intent on harming law enforcement. Bovino spoke at a local news conference from the Whipple Federal Building at Fort Snelling, while Noem delivered her remarks from the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters in Washington, D.C., later in the afternoon.

A review of over half a dozen videos taken from different angles — including footage recorded by bystanders, video from inside nearby businesses and clips captured from across the street — along with eyewitness accounts and statements from local officials, complicates that narrative and leaves several assertions unsupported by publicly released evidence.

Bovino said federal agents were conducting a targeted operation at about 9:05 a.m. when Pretti approached Border Patrol officers while armed.

“During this operation, an individual approached U.S. Border Patrol agents with a 9mm semiautomatic handgun,” Bovino said.

Video confirms Pretti was present near the operation. The footage does not show him pointing a firearm, attempting to fire a weapon, or advancing toward agents with a gun raised. He is instead captured holding a cellphone, appearing to record.

“This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement,” he said.

Noem repeated the claim later Saturday.

Federal officials have released no evidence supporting claims about Pretti’s intent. Under Minnesota law, carrying a handgun in public is legal with a permit, and law enforcement sources said Pretti was a lawful gun owner. Intent cannot be determined from the publicly available video.

Bovino said that “agents attempted to disarm the individual, but he violently resisted.”

Noem echoed that account, saying agents fired “fearing for his life and for the lives of his fellow officers.”

Before the shooting, an agent in a gray jacket leans over the top of Pretti and pulls out of the scrum with a gun in one hand. It’s unclear whose firearm it is, but it resembles the weapon the DHS said they recovered from Pretti.

Noem said during her remarks that Pretti “also had no ID.”

None of the over half a dozen videos reviewed show federal agents asking Pretti for identification at any point during the encounter. The footage shows a rapid escalation — beginning with agents shoving civilians, followed by the use of chemical irritant on Pretti and a physical struggle — without any visible attempt to question him or request identification.

Federal authorities have not explained how or when they determined Pretti did not have identification.

Bovino said medical aid was promptly provided.

Video shows Pretti motionless on the ground as agents retreat and the scene escalates.

Authorities have not released body camera footage, dispatch logs or a detailed timeline showing when medical aid began.

Noem described the aftermath as a violent riot and made a specific allegation.

“We saw objects being thrown at them … and even an HSI officer agent’s finger was bitten off,” she said, referring to a Homeland Security Investigations agent.

Federal officials have released no medical records, arrest reports or independent confirmation supporting the claim that an officer’s finger was bitten off.

Noem accused Gov. Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey of encouraging attacks on law enforcement and protecting criminals.

“They want chaos,” Noem said, accusing state and city leaders of encouraging residents and “violent rioters” to resist.

Walz and Frey have publicly criticized the federal operation and called for it to end, but both have also urged Minnesotans to remain peaceful. Neither has called for violence. Walz condemned the shooting and asked for calm while urging federal authorities to leave Minnesota. Frey similarly called for peaceful protest while questioning the continuation of the federal operation.

Noem provided no evidence that either leader encouraged assaults on officers.

At a separate news conference Saturday afternoon, Frey questioned the federal presence.

Federal authorities have not offered evidence of when they became aware that Pretti was armed, how agents determined his intent, or why lethal force escalated after he was already on the ground. No body camera footage has been released.

Pretti had no serious criminal history, according to law enforcement records.

Pretti’s family released a statement sharply disputing the federal government’s description of the encounter, saying it misrepresents their son’s actions in the moments before he was killed.

In the statement, his parents described Pretti as a compassionate and service-oriented person who worked as an intensive care nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital, caring for military veterans. They said he was trying to protect a woman who had been shoved by agents and was holding his phone, not a weapon, when he was confronted.

“The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting,” the family said.