Here’s what to know about federal agents’ killing of Alex Pretti in south Minneapolis

Federal agents shot and killed 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti on Jan. 24 in south Minneapolis during an immigration enforcement action, prompting local leaders to implore the Trump administration to end the massive immigration operation that’s rocked the city.

Pretti’s death comes less than three weeks after a federal agent fatally shot Renee Good, 37, setting off large protests in a city that’s been on edge since U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agents began flooding into the city at the end of last year.

Federal officials claimed that Pretti approached agents with a handgun and intent to do harm to law enforcement. But multiple videos of the shooting do not show Pretti holding, pointing or attempting to fire a weapon. State leaders are seeking to investigate what happened while getting no cooperation from federal agencies, with Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara saying state investigators are in uncharted territory.

Here’s what to know.

Federal authorities said they were attempting to detain an Ecuadorian man with a criminal history when the fatal shooting occurred. A large group of witnesses had amassed that morning in Whittier, a neighborhood in the same southern swath of the city where federal agents killed Good.

Several bystander videos show Pretti approaching a group of agents and leading two people away after agents shoved them. An agent then sprays Pretti in the face with a chemical irritant before several tackle him to the ground.

An agent pulls a gun from the scrum before at least one agent shoots Pretti, who appears to be on his knees. More shots ring out as Pretti lies limp.

Photos of a gun DHS shared and claimed Pretti was carrying show a Sig Sauer 9 mm pistol that’s frequently carried by U.S. military and law enforcement. Pretti had a permit to carry the weapon.

Border Patrol Cmdr. Greg Bovino, who had been the public face of the federal immigration surge in Minnesota, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem reiterated those claims in separate news conferences, accusing Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey of encouraging lawlessness.

Bovino, who drew fierce criticism for his handling of the Minneapolis operation and public defense of the federal presence, is expected to leave the city this week as part of a leadership reshuffle. Tom Homan, the administration’s “border czar,” will now oversee Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Minnesota and coordinate on the ground, reporting directly to the White House.

The Minnesota Star Tribune reviewed over half a dozen videos of the encounter taken from multiple angles and fact-checked federal officials’ claims.

The videos do not show Pretti pointing a firearm, attempting to fire a weapon or advancing toward agents with a gun raised. He appears to be holding a cellphone and recording as agents shove civilians. O’Hara said he did not believe Pretti was brandishing a gun.

Frey and Walz, both Democrats, have called on the Trump administration to immediately end Operation Metro Surge, which ICE has called the “largest immigration operation ever.”

Frey noted Saturday that of the city’s three homicides so far this year, two involved gunfire from federal agents during apprehensions.

Several Democratic members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation have begged their Republican colleagues to try to put a stop to the situation.

Republicans have offered mixed reactions.

Sen. Zach Duckworth, a Republican legislator from Lakeville, said on social media that the state is “long overdue for a tactical pause.”

In response to mounting criticism over the federal operation and the deaths in Minneapolis, President Donald Trump issued a series of demands Sunday evening on Truth Social, urging Walz and Frey to cooperate with federal authorities.

“Governor Walz and Mayor Frey should turn over all Criminal Illegal Aliens that are currently incarcerated in their State Prisons and Jails to Federal Authorities,” Trump wrote, calling on state and local officials to assist in the rapid removal of undocumented immigrants and urging Congress to legislate against sanctuary city policies. Trump did not say that complying with these demands would lead to federal agents being withdrawn from Minneapolis.

However, the White House has since softened its tone. Walz spoke to President Trump by phone Jan. 26, a conversation both parties hailed as productive and signaling a possible path toward de-escalating the tense immigration standoff in the state.

In a post on his Truth Social account, Trump described his call with Walz as “very good” and said the two seemed to be “on a similar wavelength.”

Frey also spoke to Trump, and said after his call that some federal agents would begin leaving on Tuesday.

Colleagues described him as caring and funny, possessed of the people and medical skills to treat critically ill veterans.

He went to high school in Wisconsin before graduating from the University of Minnesota in 2011. His parents, Michael and Susan Pretti, described their son in a statement to CNN as a “kindhearted soul” and slammed federal officials for telling “sickening lies” about him.

“Please get the truth out about our son,” they said. “He was a good man.”

State officials have said they are conducting their own probe of Pretti’s killing while slamming the federal government for apparent missteps.

Shortly after shooting Pretti, federal agents left the scene, leaving it unsecure as protesters gathered. State investigators were physically blocked from accessing the crime scene to conduct an independent investigation. They accessed the area for the first time on Sunday.

Noem said on Sunday that her office would lead the federal investigation into the agents’ use of force.

In a Jan. 26 call with Trump described as “productive,” Walz emphasized the need for “impartial investigations” of the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents.

“The President agreed that he would talk to his Department of Homeland Security about ensuring the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is able to conduct an independent investigation, as would ordinarily be the case,” the governor’s office said in a statement. “The President also agreed to look into reducing the number of federal agents in Minnesota and working with the state in a more coordinated fashion on immigration enforcement regarding violent criminals.”

Federal agents blocked investigators with the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension from accessing the shooting scene after Pretti was killed.

Bovino previously said he has no plans to end the immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota.