A federal immigration officer has shot and killed a man in the US city of Minneapolis, drawing hundreds of protesters onto the icy streets in a city that was shocked by another fatal shooting weeks earlier.
Saturday’s incident was one of five shootings in January involving federal agents conducting immigration enforcement, including the fatal shooting of Renee Good, a woman from Minnesota.
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets despite subzero temperatures to voice their opposition to President Donald Trump’s expanding immigration policies and demand that he withdraw agents, what Minnesota officials have called an occupation.
Demonstrators protest outside the Metropolitan Detention Center during a protest following the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minneapolis earlier in the day. Source: MONKEY / Caroline Brehman/AP
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem said at a news conference that DHS agents were “conducting a targeted operation in Minneapolis against an illegal alien” wanted for crimes including assault when they were approached by an individual “wielding a 9-millimeter semiautomatic handgun.”
Noem said one of the officers fired his weapon after the person “reacted violently.”
“Fearing for his life and the lives of their fellow officers around him, an officer fired defensive shots. Medics immediately arrived and attempted to provide medical aid to the subject, but he was pronounced dead at the scene,” Noem said, as a photo of the weapon was displayed on a screen next to her.
The man also had extra ammunition and no identification, she said.
“This appears to be a situation where an individual has arrived on the scene to inflict maximum harm on individuals and kill law enforcement officers.”
The Minneapolis police chief contradicted this story and said the man died in a hospital shortly afterwards.
Victim ‘cared a lot about people’
The victim’s father said he was a critical care nurse with the Veterans Administration who cared deeply about people and was upset by Trump’s crackdown on immigration in his city.
Alex Jeffrey Pretti, 37, had participated in protests following the murder of Renee Good.
“He cared deeply about people and was very angry about what was happening in Minneapolis and across the United States with ICE, just like millions of other people are angry,” said Michael Pretti, Alex’s father.
A sign for 37-year-old Alex Pretti is displayed at a vigil in Minneapolis. Source: MONKEY / Adam Gray/AP
Within a short time, demonstrators gathered at the scene of the incident in Minneapolis, where officers reportedly used tear gas and pepper spray.
After the deadly shootings, Trump attacked the mayor of the city and the governor of the state of Minnesota.
“The mayor and the governor are inciting insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous and arrogant rhetoric!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Trump also wrote about US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): “LET OUR ICE PATRIOTS DO THEIR WORK!”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz urged Trump during a news conference to withdraw federal troops from the state.
“Remove this force from Minnesota, they are sowing chaos and violence.”
Walz had previously written about X: “Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now.’
“Minnesota has had it. This is sickening,” Walz wrote.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey wrote on
If the purpose of the mission is to ensure peace and security, then it accomplishes the exact opposite, Frey said.
The ICE operations are part of the strengthened deportation policy during Trump’s second term, which began in January 2025.
About 3,000 people have been arrested since stepped-up operations began in Minnesota, according to the government.
There are currently several lawsuits pending in the courts by local authorities challenging the actions of federal agencies.
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