It\u2019s the second fatal shooting this month in Minneapolis<\/a>, Minnesota, in addition to another non-fatal shooting, amid a major crackdown in Minnesota by federal agents.<\/p>\n Pretti attended nursing school at the University of Minnesota<\/a>, where he was also a junior scientist beginning in 2012, according to his LinkedIn profile.<\/p>\n \u201cHe wanted to help people,\u201d said Dimitri Drekonja, chief of infectious diseases at the VA hospital and professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota<\/a>, who worked with Pretti at the hospital and on a research project. \u201cHe was a super nice, super helpful guy \u2013 looked after his patients. I\u2019m just stunned.\u201d<\/p>\n He described Pretti as an \u201coutstanding\u201d nurse and a hard worker, quick with a joke and an \u201cinfectious\u201d spirit. \u201cHe was such a good dude,\u201d Drekonja told the Guardian. \u201cI just love working with him.\u201d<\/p>\n Michael Pretti, Alex\u2019s father, echoed Drekonja\u2019s assessment, describing his son to the Associated Press as someone who \u201ccared about people deeply and he was very upset with what was happening in Minneapolis<\/a> and throughout the United States with ICE, as millions of other people are upset.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe felt that doing the protesting was a way to express that, you know, his care for others,\u201d the elder Pretti said.<\/p>\n You can read more on Pretti here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.23 EST<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Protesters have started demonstrating in cities across the US after federal agents killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis<\/a> on Saturday morning.<\/p>\n In New York City, protesters gathered in the Union Square area of Manhattan, chanting: \u201cSay it once, say it twice: We will not put up with ICE!\u201d<\/p>\n RIGHT NOW! NYC has erupted in protest after ICU nurse Alex Jeffrey Pretti was killed by federal agents in MN this morning. Minnesota started it\u2014it\u2019s time for a national shutdown! ICE OUT OF EVERYWHERE! pic.twitter.com\/dmBYxo60fn<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 The People’s Forum (@PeoplesForumNYC) January 24, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Providence, Rhode Island, saw hundreds demonstrating in front of the Department of Homeland Security building, saying: \u201cshut it down!\u201d<\/p>\n BREAKING: Hundreds protest in front of DHS headquarters in Providence, RI after the ICE killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis this afternoon. pic.twitter.com\/Fm2LeJ6z2i<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 BreakThrough News (@BTnewsroom) January 24, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Here are some of the latest scenes in south Minneapolis<\/a>, where a 37-year-old nurse, Alex Pretti, was shot dead by federal personnel today as they were engaged in an immigration enforcement action against another individual.<\/p>\n A woman reacts next to a makeshift memorial at the site where a man identified as Alex Pretti was fatally shot by federal agents trying to detain him, in Minneapolis, Minnesota today, January 24, 2026. Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein\/Reuters<\/p>\n There has been a lot of observation of federal officers spraying protesters in the face with painful pepper spray from very close range even after they have already been pinned to the ground by other officers. Here\u2019s a new one.<\/p>\n A protester is pepper sprayed at close range while being detained near the site of the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. Photograph: Ellen Schmidt\/AP<\/p>\n Minneapolis<\/p>\n Protesters face off with federal agents near the site of the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. Photograph: Ellen Schmidt\/AP<\/p>\n Federal personnel have left the scene where their fatal shooting of a member of the public occurred earlier today. Protests on the street now have been reported as peaceful. A small number of National Guard troops has been sent by Minnesota<\/a> to stand by.<\/p>\n National Guard vehicles along a road in Minneapolis today. Photograph: Tim Evans\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n A group called the Minnesota<\/a> Gun Owners Caucus has issued a statement about the killing of Alex Pretti this morning, a 37-year-old nurse, by federal agents who wrestled him to the ground and shot him.<\/p>\n Pretti owned a gun and the authorities say he had it with him, and the federal government issued images of a pistol, but no-one has been able to say if he drew it, tried to draw it or threatened officers. The Minneapolis<\/a> police said he owned a gun legally.<\/p>\n The gun owners caucus said on X: \u201cWe are deeply concerned by this morning\u2019s reports that a federal law enforcement operation in Minneapolis resulted in the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by federal agents. According to local officials, the man was legally armed, a firearm was recovered at the scene, and he is believed to have been a lawful gun owner and permit to carry holder\u2026Despite 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.\u201d<\/p>\n It added: \u201cEvery peaceable Minnesotan has the right to keep and bear arms \u2013 including while attending protests, acting as observers, or exercising their First Amendment rights\u201d [the constitutional rights to free speech and peaceable assembly].<\/p>\n You can read the full post here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Defense secretary Pete Hegseth<\/a> has this to say on X<\/a>: \u201cThank God for the patriots of @ICEgov \u2014 we have your back 100%. You are SAVING the country. Shame on the leadership of Minnesota \u2014 and the lunatics in the street.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n There is sharp disagreement between the federal government and the authorities in Minnesota<\/a> about who is causing chaos and who is trying to make the city safer.<\/p>\n US vice president JD Vance said today on X, after the shooting of Alex Pretti by federal officers who pinned him to the street, that when he visited Minneapolis<\/a> two days ago \u201cwhat the ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] agents wanted more than anything was to work with local law enforcement so that situations on the ground didn\u2019t get out of hand.\u201d<\/p>\n But what is going on in Minneapolis is that thousands of federal immigration officers surged into this relatively small city and began targeting residents as part of the Trump administration\u2019s mass deportation agenda.<\/p>\n Local leaders did not support this federal effort and were not prepared to have state or local police and sheriffs assist ICE. At the same time, many residents in this liberal city were outraged at the heavy presence of ICE, and also Border Patrol agents, with these federal personnel using aggressive tactics to apprehend people for anti-immigration reasons.<\/p>\n ICE and Border Patrol then also turned their tactics on protesters and community observers who warn people in neighborhoods when an immigration enforcement appears to be imminent. The temperature went way up (even as everyone was out in snow and ice and Arctic conditions). Then Renee Good was shot dead by an ICE officer on January 7 even as she told the Fed she \u201cwas not mad\u201d at him and started to drive away (after another officer told her to \u201cget out of the fucking car\u201d), and protesters became angrier and efforts by the Feds to stop or discourage them became more violent.<\/p>\n Local leaders demanded ICE leave. More federal officers arrived and started calling any protesters rioters and agitators. And on Saturday Alex Pretti was shot dead by federal officers, further enraging residents and local leaders. Local leaders once again asked the Feds to leave, saying their conduct was \u201can abomination\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is at the headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), trying to talk about the huge, dangerous winter storm that is blasting across the US.<\/p>\n But she just asked the gathered media representatives if anyone wants to ask her about the storm and the reporters only want to ask her about the fatal shooting in Minneapolis<\/a>.<\/p>\n Asked whether the federal government is willing to have Minnesota investigate the shooting of Alex Pretti<\/a> earlier today, she said \u201cWho would trust Governor Walz at this point?\u201d<\/p>\n An angry Tim Walz<\/a>, the Democratic governor of Minnesota, held a press conference earlier and demanded that the state investigate the killing.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, you can follow all the news about the monster storm that is forecast to affect more than 200 million people across the US with our live updates here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n DHS secretary Kristi Noem has followed other federal leaders in declining to answer journalists\u2019 questions about whether Alex Pretti was holding or \u201cbrandishing\u201d a gun when he was shot dead by a federal agent or agents this morning.<\/p>\n Noem first said that Pretti \u201cattacked those officers and had a weapon on him\u201d and she just said he \u201cshowed up with a weapon and ammunition\u201d, which is also inexact. The Minneapolis<\/a> police said Pretti was licensed to carry a weapon. But no-one from the Trump administration so far questioned in public will answer clearly whether Pretti had his gun drawn or tried to draw it.<\/p>\n Noem was asked to comment on witness reports that Pretti had been disarmed by the Feds before he was shot. She ignored the question.<\/p>\n However, she did say that \u201can HSI agent\u2019s finger was bitten off.\u201d The Guardian is not aware of this reported incident. If we hear more on this, we\u2019ll update you.<\/p>\n HSI is one of the branches of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), under the umbrella of the DHS. It stands for Homeland Security Investigations.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s our explainer<\/a> on who is who on the frontline of the Trump administration\u2019s immigration enforcement surge.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>DHS Secretary Noem calls death ‘tragic’ but says agents were doing their ‘lawful duty’<\/p>\n Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is beginning a press conference.<\/p>\n She has called the death of Alex Pretti today, shot dead by a federal agent in Minneapolis<\/a>, a \u201ctragic situation\u201d.<\/p>\n She said that Pretti was killed by the Feds \u201cas they carried out their lawful duty to keep Americans safe in the face of illegal aliens\u201d.<\/p>\n Noem said that agents were trying to apprehend a person who was in the US illegally and who had a record of domestic assault, disorderly conduct and driving without a license.<\/p>\n In the process of that, she said, as Border Patrol said earlier, the officers were approached by a third party, an armed man carrying a 9mm pistol.<\/p>\n The federal authorities have still not said clearly whether Pretti was holding his gun or drew it or attempted to draw it. He was carrying it legally, local police have said.<\/p>\n But Noem said: \u201cThis looks like a situation where an individual arrived on the scene to\u2026kill law enforcement officers.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked by reporters \u201cdid he brandish a gun?\u201d she said that \u201cthis individual showed up to impede a law enforcement operation and assaulted our officers. I don\u2019t know of any peaceful protester that shows up with a gun and ammunition rather than a sign. This is a violent riot when you have someone showing up with weapons.\u201d But no-one will actually answer the specific question.<\/p>\n Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a news conference at Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Washington, DC. She is chiefly talking about the coming storm, but made remarks about the fatal shooting in Minneapolis. Photograph: Julia Demaree Nikhinson\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.16 EST<\/p>\n US Congressman Bennie Thompson, the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, has called for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to be impeached and has denounced statements from the administration about the man DHS agents killed earlier today.<\/p>\n Apparently, the Trump administration and its secret police only support the First and Second Amendments when it\u2019s convenient to them,\u201d the representative from Mississippi said, referring to the rights under the US constitution to free speech and having a gun.<\/p>\n Thompson called on Democrats in the US Senate to vote against a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that passed the lower chamber last week, the Associated Press reports.<\/p>\n This is un-American and has to stop. The House must immediately take steps to impeach Kristi Noem<\/a>,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Congressman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) leads a group of House Democrats in a press conference about their response to the fatal shooting of Renee Good, who was shot and killed in Minneapolis on January 7 by a US immigration and Customs (ICE) officer. Thompson was speaking at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n CNN a little earlier aired an interview with a man called Nilson Barahona, who was in a donut shop outside of which Alex Pretti was shot dead by a federal agent this morning.<\/p>\n Barahona, who was on the verge of tears, told the cable news network that was he saw was federal immigration enforcement officers try to apprehend a man who then went into a business and locked the door out of their reach.<\/p>\n A woman who was protesting against the federal officers was being pulled by them and a man, who later turned out to be Pretti, went to her assistance, Barahona further said, as reported by CNN.<\/p>\n The officers then turned on the man and it ended in a confrontation where he, Pretti, was shot dead, with Barahona telling CNN that he didn\u2019t see Pretti holding or reaching for his gun (which he was legally entitled to own and carry in Minneapolis<\/a>, according to the local authorities), contrary to what the federal government has said.<\/p>\n Share<\/a> One of Donald Trump\u2019s top advisers, and the architect of his immigration policy, Stephen Miller wrote on social media <\/a>that Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old who was killed by a federal immigration agent was \u201can assassin\u201d who \u201ctried to murder federal law enforcement\u201d.<\/p>\n A reminder that border patrol official, Gregory Bovino, said that the man who was killed was armed and approached officers attempting to arrest a person who entered the US illegally. Bovino said an officer shot the US citizen in self-defense. However, bystander video footage of the incident contradicts<\/a> officials\u2019 assessment.<\/p>\n Stephen Miller at Zurich International Airport, Switzerland, January 21. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst\/ReutersShare<\/a> In his social media posts today<\/a>, Donald Trump repeated his claims that federal immigration agents descended on Minneapolis because of large-scale fraud cases in Minnesota, where federal funds for several social service programs, from Medicaid to child-nutrition in the Covid pandemic, were misused.<\/p>\n A number of Somali-Americans are defendants in these cases, which has fueled vitriol, particularly from right wing commentators, against the community. The president has routinely denigrated the Somali population in the state, often launching into xenophobic rants during public events.<\/p>\n On Truth Social the president suggested that the unrest in Minneapolis<\/a> \u2013 including today\u2019s fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents \u2013 was \u201ca COVER UP for this Theft and Fraud\u201d. Trump chastised Minnesota governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey, both Democrats, writing that \u201cthese sanctimonious political fools should be looking for the Billions of Dollars that has been stolen from the people of Minnesota.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump also went after one of his mainstay Democratic targets in Congress, Minnesota representative Ilhan Omar. A Somali-American lawmaker that Trump has frequently insulted with racist remarks, and threats that she should be \u201csent back to Somalia\u201d. Omar came to the US as a refugee when she was a teenager before becoming an American citizen more than 20 years ago. After today\u2019s shooting, Trump questioned: \u201cWhy does Ilhan Omar have $34 Million Dollars in her account?\u201d. This week, the president called for a criminal investigation<\/a> into the congresswoman\u2019s finances, claiming that \u201cthere is no way such wealth could have been accumulated, legally, while being paid the salary of a politician\u201d.<\/p>\n Donald Trump attends a reception with business leaders during the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF), in Davos, Switzerland, January 21, 2026. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n The scene in south Minneapolis<\/a> in the immediate vicinity of where a federal agent shot dead Alex Pretti has changed quite significantly in the last couple of hours.<\/p>\n Immediately after Pretti was shot, protesters became very agitated and federal personnel were firing tear gas and flash bangs in scenes of chaos, with people coughing and choking.<\/p>\n Local leaders appealed for calm. Not long after that, state and local police officers arrived on the scene and could be seen standing between protesters and federal officers.<\/p>\n But a bit later, the feds left the scene. The local and state police also left because they were so few in number, leaders said. The streets immediately around where the shooting took place are currently orderly and relatively quiet, with several hundred protesters standing and demonstrating against ICE but without the tension that accompanied the situation earlier.<\/p>\n Flowers been placed and the beginnings of a makeshift memorial are emerging at the spot where Pretti was shot dead. Someone has lit a small bonfire to keep people warm as the temperature in Minneapolis right now is minus 3 Fahrenheit, or minus 19 Celsius.<\/p>\n Protest against ICE after federal agents fatally shot a man while trying to detain him, in Minneapolis. Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.50 EST<\/p>\n Senate Democrats condemn fatal Minneapolis shooting ahead of pivotal DHS funding vote Senate lawmakers have started reacting to the news that federal immigration agents shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minneapolis<\/a> today. In response, some Democratic senators have said they plan to vote against a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill that\u2019s set to hit the upper-chamber floor this week on Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n![\"Alex](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/642.jpg\")
Alex Pretti Photograph: AP<\/p>\n![\"Shrai](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Shrai_Popat.png\")
Shrai Popat<\/p>\nShrai Popat<\/p>\nShrai Popat<\/p>\n