Federal immigration officers shot and killed a man Saturday in Minneapolis<\/a>, drawing hundreds of protesters onto the frigidly cold streets in a city already shaken by another fatal shooting weeks earlier.<\/p>\n Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said a 37-year-old man was killed but declined to identify him. He added that information about what led up to the shooting was limited. The man was identified by his parents as Alex Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse.<\/p>\n The Minnesota National Guard, which had been activated earlier by Gov. Tim Walz, was assisting local police amid growing protests<\/a>.<\/p>\n Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that federal officers were conducting an operation as part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and fired “defensive shots” after a man with a handgun approached them and “violently resisted” when officers tried to disarm him. O’Hara said police believe the man was a “lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.” The officer who shot the man is an eight-year Border Patrol veteran, federal officials said. <\/p>\n Customs and Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino said the officer who shot the man had extensive training as a range safety officer and in using less-lethal force.<\/p>\n “This is only the latest attack on law enforcement. Across the country, the men and women of DHS have been attacked, shot at,” he said.<\/p>\n Walz, a Democrat, said he had no confidence in federal officials and that the state would lead the investigation into the latest fatal shooting. <\/p>\n In a press conference at FEMA headquarters later in the day, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem repeated Bovino’s defense of the officer’s conduct, saying that Pretti “assaulted” federal agents and was there to “perpetuate violence.”<\/p>\n Neither of those claims is supported by the video evidence of the incident. A new video obtained by Hearst Television shows the moments leading up to the shooting. <\/p>\n Video above: New witness video shows shooting of Alex Pretti<\/p>\n What we know about the man killed<\/p>\n Alex Jeffrey Pretti<\/a>, 37, was an avid outdoorsman who loved going on adventures with Joule, his beloved Catahoula Leopard dog, who also recently died.<\/p>\n \t\t \n\t\tMichael Pretti via AP\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThis undated photo provided by Michael Pretti shows Alex J. Pretti, the man who was shot by a federal officer in Minneapolis on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026.<\/p>\n “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. “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.”<\/p>\n Pretti was a U.S. citizen, born in Illinois. He attended high school in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2011. Like Good, court records showed he had no criminal record, and his family said he had never had any interactions with law enforcement beyond a handful of traffic tickets.<\/p>\n Initial reports identified the man as 51 years old, which was later corrected.<\/p>\n Family members said Pretti owned a handgun and had a permit to carry a concealed handgun in Minnesota. They said they had never known him to carry it.<\/p>\n The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus responded to the death of Pretti in a news release saying, “We 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.<\/p>\n Every peaceable Minnesotan has the right to keep and bear arms \u2014 including while attending protests, acting as observers, or exercising their First Amendment rights. These rights do not disappear when someone is lawfully armed, and they must be respected and protected at all times.”<\/p>\n Pretti’s family released a statement Saturday evening saying they are \u201cheartbroken but also very angry,\u201d and calling him a kindhearted soul who wanted to make a difference in the world through his work as a nurse.<\/p>\n \u201cThe sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump\u2019s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. 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 all while being pepper sprayed,” the family statement said. \u201cPlease get the truth out about our son. He was a good man.\u201d<\/p>\n What we know about the agents involved<\/p>\n Border Patrol Agent Gregory Bovino said in a news conference that Department of Homeland Security law enforcement officers were in the area to conduct a “targeted operation,” seeking a man with a criminal history that includes domestic assault, disorderly conduct, and driving without a valid license.<\/p>\n He added that the officer who shot Pretti “was highly trained and had been serving as a border patrol agent for eight years.”<\/p>\n Full news conference above: Minneapolis officials detail shooting involving federal immigration officials <\/p>\n \u201cThe officer has extensive training as a range safety officer and less lethal officer,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Protests continue in Minneapolis<\/p>\n Protesters continued to converge at the scene of the shooting despite dangerously cold weather.<\/p>\n At midday on Saturday, the worst of an extreme cold wave was over, but the temperature was still -6 degrees. The Arctic blast hadn\u2019t deterred thousands of protesters from marching downtown Minneapolis on Friday afternoon to call for ICE to leave Minnesota.<\/p>\n Saturday’s shooting unfolded just over a mile away from where Good was shot.<\/p>\n After the shooting, an angry crowd gathered and screamed profanities at federal officers, calling them “cowards” and telling them to go home. One officer responded mockingly as he walked away, telling them, “Boo hoo.” Agents elsewhere shoved a yelling protester into a car. Protesters dragged garbage dumpsters from alleyways to block the streets, and people who gathered chanted, “ICE out now,” referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.<\/p>\n “They’re killing my neighbors!” said Minneapolis resident Josh Koskie.<\/p>\n \t\t \n\t\tGetty ImagesStephen Maturen\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFederal agents point weapons amid tear gas fired at protestors. Earlier, agents shot and killed a man amid a scuffle to arrest him on January 24, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.<\/p>\n Federal officers wielded batons and deployed flash bangs on the crowd.<\/p>\n Walz said he had been in contact with the White House after the shooting. He urged President Donald Trump to end what the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest-ever immigration enforcement operation<\/a>. <\/p>\n Video above: An excerpt of Secretary Noem’s remarks on the Jan. 24 Minneapolis shooting<\/p>\n Police chief appeals for calm<\/p>\n O\u2019Hara appealed for calm, both from the public and from federal law enforcement, and to “not destroy our own city” following the shooting of a man.<\/p>\n \u201cOur demand today is for those federal agencies that are operating in our city to do so with the same discipline, humanity and integrity that effective law enforcement in this country demands,\u201d the chief said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe urge everyone to remain peaceful. We recognize that there is a lot of anger and a lot of questions around what has happened, but we need people to remain peaceful in the area.\u201d <\/p>\n When asked if police had had contact with top ICE officials, police chief O’Hara said, “We have had conversations with Homeland Security investigations this morning. We\u2019re told they do not have any information to share at this time, but we will attempt to maintain those communications going forward.”<\/p>\n \t\t \n\t\tROBERTO SCHMIDT\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFederal agents look on as demonstrators gather near the site where state and local authorities say a man was shot by federal agents earlier in the morning in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 24, 2026. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said Saturday that federal agents deployed in Minneapolis as part of a sweeping immigration crackdown had carried out “another horrific shooting,” less than three weeks after the fatal shooting of Renee Good.<\/p>\n Shooting comes in the wake of two others in three weeks<\/p>\n The shooting happened amid widespread daily protests in the Twin Cities since the Jan. 7 shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good<\/a>, who was killed when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fired into her vehicle. Saturday’s shooting unfolded just over a mile away from where Good was shot.<\/p>\n![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/alex-pretti-ap2697535b7e3a3b.jpg\"\/ "\\"Alex")
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