Man fatally shot by federal immigration agents in south Minneapolis

A man was shot and killed by federal agents Saturday morning in the Whittier neighborhood of south Minneapolis, setting off hours of confrontation between protesters and law enforcement.

Sources familiar with the investigation told the Minnesota Star Tribune that the man killed was Alex Jeffrey Pretti, 37, who attended the University of Minnesota and lived in south Minneapolis.

Witnesses say Pretti was shot multiple times and taken to the hospital after CPR was performed at the scene.

A video recorded moments before the shooting shows Pretti confronting a federal agent as Pretti records a person being shoved by an agent. Pretti interferes with the agent who is shown pushing a person to the ground. The agent then sprayed Pretti in the face with chemical irritant and threw him to the ground.

Another video of the shooting from inside Glam Doll Donuts on Nicollet Avenue shows four agents across the street wrestling Pretti to the ground. Several more agents approach and attempt to hold him down.

One agent is shown in the video hitting him with an object three times as others pinned him down. One gunshot is fired and agents back away as a series of additional gunshots can be heard from other agents who have unholstered their firearms.

Pretti is then shown lying flat on his back and unresponsive.

At 9:05 a.m., DHS said on X that federal agents were conducting a targeted operation for someone “wanted for violent assault,” when the man approached U.S. Border Patrol officers. DHS said agents attempted to disarm the man but he “violently resisted.”

“Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, an agent fired defensive shots. Medics on scene immediately delivered medical aid to the subject but was pronounced dead at the scene.“

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the man had no violent criminal history and was a “lawful gun owner” with a permit.

State Patrol and MPD officers were on the scene keeping a growing crowd of more than 100 protesters separated from the agents as they screamed at the agents and chanted “ICE go home.”

Officials asked the public to stay away from the scene and to “remain calm.” But protesters quickly dragged dumpsters and restaurant patio furniture into the street to block roads, and some set a dumpster ablaze, creating thick smoke near the scene.

Federal agents left the area shortly before 1 p.m. and the scene grew suddenly quiet in Whittier’s Eat Street district.

Eat Street is made of many immigrant-owned businesses that closed Friday for anti-ICE protests that drew thousands to march through downtown.

“At this point, it’s not even about trying to protect certain people or anyone specific. It’s just the safety of all of us,” said Erica Christ, a longtime Whittier resident and family business owner.

She described Eat Street as an “incredibly resilient” melting pot, and that’s what makes the anti-immigrant rhetoric from the federal government all the more shocking.

“The immigrants came and saved it, for crying out loud,” she said. “Immigrants saved Nicollet Avenue.”

“How many more residents, how many more Americans need to die or get badly hurt for this operation to end?” Frey said. “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.”

O’Hara said he instructed his officers to preserve the scene. All available MPD officers were called into work.

U.S. Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino held a separate news conference Saturday, pushing back on criticism from city leaders and accusing Minneapolis officials of downplaying the threat posed by the man who was killed.

Bovino said federal agents need help from state and local law enforcement to “get violent criminals off the streets,” and criticized Frey and O’Hara for not emphasizing that the man had a gun and ammunition. He described the shooting as a situation in which, he claimed, an individual intended to inflict “maximum damage” on law enforcement.

Gov. Tim Walz shared on X that he spoke with the White House “after another horrific shooting by federal agents this morning.”

This is the third reported shooting involving federal immigration agents in Minneapolis in roughly two and a half weeks, coming just blocks from where a federal agent fatally shot Renee Good, 37, on Jan. 7.

A second shooting occurred in north Minneapolis on Jan. 14, when an immigration officer shot a Venezuelan man in the leg during an operation that involved a vehicle chase and confrontation.

The three shootings have unfolded amid a significantly expanded federal enforcement presence in Minneapolis that has led to clashes with community members and protesters.

Jeff Day, Liz Sawyer, Josie Albertson-Grove, Elliot Hughes and Sarah Nelson of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this report.