MINNEAPOLIS — Border Patrol agents fatally shot a 37-year-old man in South Minneapolis Saturday. The man, identified by multiple news outlets as Alex Pretti, was transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Minneapolis Police said at a news conference. The shooting, which was caught on video, ignited a wave of reaction in a city that has been pulsing with protests for weeks.
Hundreds of protestors gathered at the scene of the shooting, at 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue Saturday morning. They built makeshift barricades. Some people handed out earplugs, water and hand warmers. Mourners made a wreath out of fir branches and plastic flowers. The crowd chanted, “Say his name!” followed by “Alex Pretti.”
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A Straight Arrow News reporter, as well as others in the crowd, were hit with tear gas. It is not yet clear who deployed it.
In a video of the shooting taken by a bystander and authenticated by The Associated Press, protestors can be heard blowing whistles and shouting at agents on Nicollet Avenue Saturday morning. Multiple agents are seen on video on top of a man on the ground. One agent hits the man several times. Shots ring out, and the man’s body is seen not moving on the street as agents back away.
The video obtained by the Associated Press, and other footage posted on social media that Straight Arrow News has seen but not independently verified, do not show the man holding a gun in his hands.
The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement stating the man approached the agents with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun. In the statement, DHS said agents attempted to disarm the man but he 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,” DHS said. “The suspect also had 2 magazines and no ID — this looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said at a news conference that Pretti’s only previous interaction with law enforcement was for traffic tickets. They believe he was a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.
U.S. Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino said the agent who shot the man was with Border Patrol for eight years.
Mourning, protests continue
In the hours after the shooting, local businesses and residents crowded neighborhood streets. Glam Doll Donuts, a powder pink, retro-decked donut shop on Nicollet Avenue remained open, and volunteers provided trays of donuts to the crowd as well as a warm space for people to escape the frigid weather.
The community has been dealing with “some pretty horrible stuff,” one such volunteer, Qasim Mujteba, told SAN.
“If we can help the community in any way, even if it’s as simple as opening the door, it’s what we have to do,” said Mujteba, 21.
This is the third shooting by a federal agent in Minneapolis this year. Around 3,000 federal agents were sent to Minnesota in an immigration crackdown by the Trump administration.
The state, as well as the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, filed a federal lawsuit earlier this month against DHS to end what they called this “unprecedented surge.”
In the weeks since the death of Renee Good, an increase of force across the city has been met with an increase in protesters.
“The reality is that they’re tear gassing us and that they’re hurting us in a lot of ways,” Mujteba said. “I was tear gassed twice today,just trying to exercise peaceful protest rights over something that I think we have every right to be angry about,” he said.
One protestor, Michael Wilson, established what he called a “respect line” at the front line of the protest, between demonstrators and police.
“Officers, I hope that you know a respect line has been made,” Wilson yelled through a bullhorn. He also led the crowd in a chant to the chorus of Aretha Franklin‘s “Respect.”
Official response
Minneapolis Police declared an unlawful assembly in the area, and O’Hara said officers gave the crowd multiple warnings to disperse. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz activated the National Guard at the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office request.
The department asked for mutual aid from the Minnesota State Patrol as well as local and regional partners.
“We ask everyone to remain calm and to please do not destroy our own city,” O’Hara said.
Walz posted on X that he spoke to the White House after the shooting.
“Minnesota has had it. This is sickening,” he said. “The President must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now.”
Walz said he told the White House that the state “must lead the investigation.”
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said on X that it was requested by Minneapolis police to investigate the shooting, but its agents were blocked by the Department of Homeland Security personnel at the scene.
“How many more residents? How many more Americans need to die or get badly hurt for this operation to end?” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said at Saturday’s news conference. “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?”
President Donald Trump, meanwhile, criticized local officials on Truth Social and accused Frey and Walz of “inciting Insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous and arrogant rhetoric.”
He continued: “Where are the local Police? Why weren’t they allowed to protect ICE Officers? The Mayor and the Governor called them off?” he said. “It is stated that many of these Police were not allowed to do their job, that ICE had to protect themselves — Not an easy thing to do!”
The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus issued a statement saying it is “deeply concerned” by the shooting.
“We do not yet have an independent account of what initiated the encounter or what triggered the use of deadly force,” the statement said. “Despite widespread speculation regarding intent, 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.”
A Saturday NBA game between the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves in Minneapolis’ Target Center was rescheduled to Sunday. The NBA said this decision was made to “prioritize the safety and security” of the community.
Who was Alex Pretti?
Pretti’s parents said in a statement that their son was an intensive care nurse at a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital.
“Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends,” the statement said. “Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately he will not be with us to see his impact.”
The American Nurses Association said it is “deeply disturbed and saddened” to learn of his death.
“We extend our condolences to Alex’s loved ones, colleagues, and the community at large,” the statement said. “ANA condemns violence in our communities. The seriousness of this incident and others demand transparency and accountability. ANA calls for a full, unencumbered investigation, and urges that findings be shared promptly and clearly so Alex’s loved ones and the public have answers.”
Pretti was described in the AP as an avid outdoorsman who participated in protests sparked by the Jan. 7 killing of Renee Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs officer.
“He cared about people deeply and he was very upset with what was happening in Minneapolis and throughout the United States with ICE, as millions of other people are upset,” said Michael Pretti, Alex’s father, in an AP interview. “He thought it was terrible, you know, kidnapping children, just grabbing people off the street. He cared about those people, and he knew it was wrong, so he did participate in protests.”
In their statement, Michael and Susan Pretti said “the sickening lies about our son by the administration” are “reprehensible and disgusting” and that Alex was clearly not holding a gun when he was shot.
“He has his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down while being pepper sprayed,” they wrote.
Pretti grew up in Wisconsin and went to the University of Minnesota, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology, society and the environment. Before going back to the university to become a nurse, he worked as a research scientist.
