Federal Agents Kill Another American in Minneapolis

Footage shows the struggle before multiple shots were fired; Videos do not back up DHS's claims

UPDATE: AP reports that family members say the victim, Alex Jeffrey Pretti, was an intensive care nurse at the Veterans Administration who cared deeply about people and was upset by Trump’s immigration crackdown in his city. Pretti, 37, had participated in protests following the killing of Renee Good by an ICE officer earlier this month.

Federal law enforcement officers shot and killed a man Saturday morning in south Minneapolis during ongoing immigration enforcement operations. The information has been confirmed by local officials. This marks the third shooting in the city involving federal agents in the last few weeks.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara says his department got a call about the shooting, arrived, and found a man with multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead. He reports that the victim was a 37-year-old white male, a resident of Minneapolis, and an American citizen. AP reports identify him as Alex Jeffrey Pretti, an ICU nurse at the VA.

As to DHS’s claim that the man was armed, O’Hara says that he had a legal permit to carry. The chief also says the man’s only prior interactions with law enforcement were “traffic tickets.”

ICE Director Greg Bovino gave a briefing, claiming that the “suspect approached them” with a weapon, and that officers feared for their lives and fired “defensive shots.” As is usual with ICE and DHS claims, the multiple videos from the scene do not support this. What videos show is ICE approaching him. When Bovino began to get more questions about the gun, why it appeared to have been removed from the victim BEFORE ICE officers shot him, and continuing shooting even after he was still, officials abruptly ended the briefing.

Preliminary video circulating online appears to show several officers wrestling a man to the ground near 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue South before gunfire is heard. Details about what led up to the confrontation still aren’t clear.

WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO

Here’s a video from another angle, appearing to show officers continuing to shoot the man even after he was motionless on the ground.

And yet another video, even more disturbing. Pretti is not seen threatening anyone. He tries to protect a woman shoved by an ICE agent, gets sprayed in the face, then is wrestled to the ground, and both of his hands are empty and on the pavement. An agent finds Pretti’s gun and removes it, appearing to fire it as he is walking away. Then multiple shots are fired into Pretti on the ground.

According to law enforcement sources and the Department of Homeland Security, a firearm and magazines were recovered at the scene, but confirmation of the man’s identity and his actions before the shooting has not yet been released.

City officials report the man was shot multiple times and later pronounced dead after medics took him to a hospital.

After the shooting, a crowd gathered at the scene, and tensions escalated as federal agents deployed chemical irritants while bystanders recorded and protested. Some reports say officers walked up and down the block filming witnesses.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz condemned the incident, calling it “sickening” and demanding that the federal government end its immigration operation and withdraw federal agents from the state immediately.

More details forthcoming. Stay tuned for updates as they are confirmed.