A woman prays at a makeshift memorial in the area where 37-year-old Alex Pretti was shot dead by federal immigration agents earlier in the day in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 24, 2026 (Credit: Roberto Schmidt/AFP)
On Saturday, U.S. federal agents killed 37-year-old U.S. citizen and ICU nurse Alex Jeffrey Pretti in Minneapolis, Minnesota, shooting him multiple times at point blank range while he was pinned down on the ground and surrounded by officers.
The killing — committed by a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent — is the third shooting by U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) and CBP in as many weeks.
On Jan.7, ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Good, also 37, while she was attempting to drive away from the scene during an ICE raid in her neighborhood.
This latest shooting comes just one day after tens of thousands of Minneapolis residents took to the streets in subzero temperatures to protest the federal raids in Minnesota.
The growing use of state-sanctioned violence has sparking city-wide protests and impassioned demands by local leaders for the Trump administration to end its operation in the city, many of whom claim are politically motivated.
The Trump administration quickly claimed, as it did after Good's death, that Pretti had intended to harm the federal agents, even as video footage that has gone viral following the incidents shows to contradict their account.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) pointed to a pistol and ammunition it said was discovered on Pretti.
"He was there to perpetuate violence," Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told a briefing, while White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller referred to Pretti as an "assassin," in a post amplified on X by Vice President JD Vance.
Serious questions
However, as with Good's death, cell phone footage of the incident raised serious questions about the federal government's description of the incident.
Video aired widely by U.S. media, which AFP has not verified, shows Pretti filming agents in the snow-lined street and directing traffic.
After an agent shoves a woman protester to the ground on the sidewalk, Pretti steps in between them and is subsequently sprayed in the face by a chemical irritant.
The agent then pulls Pretti to the ground and as many as seven officers gather to detain him and pin him down to the icy roadway.
Seconds later, as an officer apparently discovers and pulls a gun from Pretti's pants, agents open fire, also shooting his motionless body several times from a distance.
Pretti's parents released a statement that was circulated by U.S. media, in which they called him "a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends."
They said the "sickening lies" the Trump administration was telling about their son are "reprehensible and disgusting" as video footage shows that "Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump's murdering and cowardly ICE thugs," they continued.
Dimitri Drekonja, chief of the Infectious Diseases Section at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs hospital and a colleague of Pretti, called him "a good kind person who lived to help."
Pretti was a nurse working "to support critically ill Veterans," he said in a post on the Bluesky social media platform.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz called the shooting "horrific" and demanded state authorities lead the investigation.
"The federal government cannot be trusted to lead this investigation. The state will handle it, period," Walz told a news conference.
Federal authorities controversially blocked local investigators from jointly probing Good's death.
One Senate Republican on Saturday called for a joint investigation into the shooting.
"The events in Minneapolis are incredibly disturbing. The credibility of ICE and DHS are at stake," Senator Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, wrote on X.
"There must be a full joint federal and state investigation. We can trust the American people with the truth."
'Let's end this operation'
Republican President Donald Trump meanwhile ratcheted up his war of words against Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, accusing the Democratic leaders of "inciting insurrection" with their rhetoric.
Trump had previously threatened to send troops to Minnesota by invoking the Insurrection Act.
As the president presses a sweeping campaign to deport undocumented migrants, thousands of ICE agents have been deployed to the Democratic-led city.
Public outrage was also rekindled earlier this week by the detention of a five-year-old boy as federal agents sought to arrest his father.
Frey at a news conference urged Trump to end the federal immigration operation, which has sparked sometimes violent demonstrations.
"This is a moment to act like a leader. Put Minneapolis, put America first in this moment — let's achieve peace. Let's end this operation."
Police Chief Brian O'Hara said an "incredibly volatile scene" erupted after the shooting as protesters arrived, with local officials unable to secure the scene for investigation.
O'Hara told a later briefing that Minnesota National Guard troops would help secure a vehicle exclusion zone set up around the site.
Local resident Maria, 56, told AFP the situation in the city was "escalating."
"They're attacking and terrorizing our communities right now."
Hundreds of protesters gathered in Minneapolis Saturday evening, despite bitterly cold temperatures in the northern U.S. city.
Large protests also spread across a number of U.S. cities on Saturday – including New York City, San Francisco, Boston and Providence, Rhode Island.
2nd Amendment
O'Hara said police believed the victim did not have any serious criminal background and was a "lawful gun owner with a permit to carry."
Some gun rights advocates — often staunch supporters of the president — have raised concerns after the Trump administration quickly linked Pretti's legal gun possession to an intent to do mass harm.
The Gun Owners of America (GOA) condemned a statement by Bill Essayli, a federal prosecutor in California, who had said on X: "If you approach law enforcement with a gun, there is a high likelihood they will be legally justified in shooting you."
"The Second Amendment protects Americans' right to bear arms while protesting — a right the federal government must not infringe upon," GOA said in a statement.
Hollywood stars slam ICE
Hollywood stars used red carpet appearances at the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday to denounce Pretti's killing.
Actress Olivia Wilde, who was in Park City, Utah, for the premiere of "The Invite," said the death of a second protester in just three weeks at the hands of federal agents was "unfathomable."
"I can't believe that we're watching people get murdered in the street," she told AFP.
"These brave Americans who have stepped out to protest the injustice of these ICE quote/unquote 'officers,' and watching them be murdered — it's unfathomable. We cannot normalize it."
Wilde, who wore an "ICE OUT" badge, said the U.S. government violence against people exercising their right to free expression was "un-American."
"We may have a government that is somehow trying to make excuses for it and legitimize it, but we [Americans] don't."
Fellow actress Natalie Portman, who was promoting "The Gallerist," got emotional as she described her feelings over a "horrible day."
"What is happening in our country is just obscene," she told AFP in Park City.
"What [President Donald] Trump and [Homeland Security Secretary] Kristi Noem and ICE are doing to our citizens and to undocumented people is outrageous and needs to end."
