Minneapolis Grapples with Second Fatal Shooting by Federal Immigration Agents in Weeks
Just weeks after the tragic death of Renee Nicole Good, Minneapolis was once again shaken by violence when Alex Jeffrey Pretti was killed on January 24, 2026, during a federal immigration enforcement operation. The incident marks the second fatal shooting involving immigration-linked federal agents against US citizens within a single month, deepening a crisis of trust in the city amid an intensified immigration crackdown.
A Disturbing Pattern Emerges in Federal Operations
Both deaths followed alarmingly similar trajectories. Federal agents used lethal force against American citizens, with official statements justifying the actions as responses to imminent danger. However, in both cases, bystander videos and eyewitness testimonies quickly complicated these narratives, raising serious questions about the circumstances surrounding the shootings.
In Good's case, an ICE agent shot her while she sat in her vehicle. In Pretti's situation, agents shot him at close range following a chaotic struggle on a snow-covered street. Federal officials described both encounters as dangerous, yet video evidence suggested neither victim posed an immediate threat at the moment they were killed.
Who Was Alex Jeffrey Pretti?
Alex Pretti was a 37-year-old registered nurse at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System and a resident of south Minneapolis. Family members and colleagues remembered him as compassionate, civic-minded, and deeply influenced by his career caring for critically ill patients. His father revealed that Pretti had been disturbed by the scale and tactics of federal immigration operations unfolding around him.
Pretti had no serious criminal history beyond minor traffic violations and was a lawful gun owner with a valid permit to carry. His family has vehemently rejected federal claims that he posed a violent threat, asserting instead that he was filming agents and attempting to help a woman during the encounter. They described early official portrayals as "sickening lies" and demanded transparency and accountability.
The Events Leading to Tragedy
Pretti was present during a large federal immigration enforcement action in Minneapolis, part of the broader Operation Metro Surge deployment. Video footage shows him holding a phone and recording agents rather than behaving aggressively. During the encounter, a woman nearby was sprayed with a chemical agent, and Pretti appears to step toward her to offer assistance while still holding his phone.
Moments later, agents sprayed Pretti himself and forcefully tackled him to the ground. This sequence—filming, moving to assist someone in distress, then being subdued—has been consistently described in eyewitness accounts and video-based reporting.
Video Analysis Contradicts Official Narrative
A frame-by-frame analysis by The New York Times Visual Investigations team, based on multiple verified videos, reconstructs the final moments before Alex Pretti was killed and directly contradicts key elements of the federal account:
- Before physical contact: Videos show a small group of demonstrators standing in the street, speaking with a federal agent as whistles sound. Alex Pretti is visible among them, holding his phone and filming the scene, occasionally appearing to direct traffic around the protest area. No weapon is visible in his hands.
- Pepper spray deployment: An agent begins pushing demonstrators and sprays pepper spray at their faces. At this moment, Pretti's hands are clearly visible: one holding his phone, the other raised defensively to shield himself from the spray.
- Assisting another protester: As others are sprayed, Pretti moves toward a woman who has just been hit with the chemical agent and appears to assist her. Agents approach him from behind as he does so.
- Restraint and struggle: Several agents grab Pretti and pull him away. A struggle follows as they force him to his knees and then to the ground. The footage shows agents grabbing his legs, pushing down on his back, and striking him repeatedly while restraining him.
- Shouts about a gun: About eight seconds after Pretti is already restrained, agents are heard shouting that he has a gun. The timing suggests, according to the Times' analysis, that agents may not have realized he was armed until after he was on the ground.
- Lethal force: As the gun emerges, another agent aims his weapon at Pretti's back and appears to fire a shot at point-blank range. He continues firing as Pretti collapses. A third agent then unholsters a weapon, and both agents appear to fire additional shots into Pretti as he lies motionless.
The NYT analysis concludes that at least ten shots were fired within roughly five seconds, painting a starkly different picture from official accounts.
Growing Concerns About ICE Training and Tactics
The recent federal actions in Minneapolis have sharpened concerns about how Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are trained and deployed, particularly following the fatal shootings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti. Critics point to several structural issues:
- Compressed training timelines: ICE academy instruction has reportedly been shortened significantly in recent years, from several months to a matter of weeks, potentially limiting agents' ability to develop judgment and de-escalation skills.
- Rapid hiring and deployment: Expanded enforcement has been accompanied by a hiring surge, raising concerns that agents are being deployed quickly without sufficient experience or supervision.
- Limited de-escalation training: Legal experts and civil liberties groups note that ICE agents receive far less training in de-escalation than local police departments, despite being placed in emotionally charged confrontations.
- Lack of crowd-control expertise: Federal immigration agents are not primarily trained for protest-adjacent or crowd-management scenarios, creating dangerous gaps when enforcement actions spill into public spaces.
- Aggressive tactical posture: Video from Minneapolis has intensified criticism of tactics such as early use of chemical sprays and rapid escalation to physical force.
- Urban mismatch: Local officials say ICE tactics often reflect a rural or border-zone enforcement mindset that doesn't translate well to large cities where encounters unfold in full public view.
- Accountability concerns: Repeated fatal encounters have fueled questions about oversight, use-of-force standards, and whether immigration agents are subject to the same transparency expectations as local police.
Political Reactions and Public Outcry
The killing of Alex Pretti triggered a fierce political backlash. Kamala Harris described the videos as "heartbreaking" and noted that Pretti appeared to be "doing everything in his power to protect his community," calling for a full and transparent investigation. Progressive Democrats sharpened their criticism, with Ilhan Omar stating the incident appeared to be "an execution by immigration enforcement" and Elizabeth Warren calling the shooting "horrific" while demanding accountability.
Republicans rallied behind federal agents, with Donald Trump defending the operation by saying "let ICE do their job" and warning that criticism of enforcement would embolden criminals. Other Republicans echoed this view, stressing officer safety and law-and-order priorities. The political divide was stark: Democrats focused on video evidence, restraint, and accountability, while Republicans emphasized authority, enforcement, and perceived threats.
Broader Context and Community Impact
Pretti's death was the third serious shooting involving federal immigration agents in Minneapolis within weeks. Earlier in January, an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, and days later, another federal agent shot and wounded a Venezuelan man during the same enforcement surge. Together, these incidents have fueled claims that Minneapolis has become a testing ground for aggressive federal tactics with little margin for error.
Pretti's family described him as someone whose professional life revolved around saving lives, not threatening them. Vigils and protests followed his death, reflecting a broader sense that Minneapolis was reliving a familiar and unresolved trauma. City and state leaders called for independent investigations and greater transparency, highlighting the growing tension between federal enforcement actions and community trust.
Federal officials have defended their personnel, framing Pretti's killing as a defensive act during an attempt to disarm an armed individual. They emphasized that he possessed a 9mm handgun and magazines and say agents acted to protect themselves. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem echoed this line, saying federal agents were operating in a "high-risk environment" and had responded to what they believed was an immediate threat. She warned against "second-guessing split-second decisions" made by officers on the ground.
However, critics counter that possession alone is not the issue. The central dispute remains whether Pretti posed an imminent threat at the moment lethal force was used—something the videos, so far, do not clearly establish. As Minneapolis continues to grapple with these tragedies, questions about training, tactics, and accountability in federal immigration enforcement operations remain urgently unresolved.
