A federal officer fatally shot a 37-year-old man in Minneapolis amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Minneapolis Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, said in a social media post that he had been in contact with the White House after the shooting. He called on President Donald Trump to end the crackdown in his state. The details surrounding the shooting weren’t immediately clear.
Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told The Associated
Press in a text messages that person had a firearm with two magazines. The shooting came amid widespread daily protests in the Twin Cities since the Jan. 7 shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good.
The officer who fatally shot Minneapolis man during protest is an 8-year Border Patrol veteran, federal officials say.
The Minnesota National Guard, which had been activated earlier by Gov. Tim Walz, was assisting local police amid growing protests.
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Walz issued a statement Saturday calling immigration enforcement “organized brutality.”
“The federal occupation of Minnesota long ago stopped being a matter of immigration enforcement. It is a campaign of organized brutality against the people of our state. And today, that campaign claimed yet another life," Walz said.
He said the state, and not the federal government, will lead the investigation into the death of 37-year-old Alex Pretti.
Pretti was shot and killed by federal officers amid an immigration operation.
“Minnesotans and our local law enforcement have done everything we can to deescalate. The federal government must deescalate. I once again call on the President to remove the 3,000 agents from Minnesota who are sowing chaos and violence."
Congressional Democrats responded with immediate outrage to the killing of another person by federal agents in Minneapolis.
Congressman Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, called for ICE to be “abolished” and for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to be impeached.
“Trump has created a militarized police force accountable only to him and ready to murder people in our streets. These agents need to leave our cities NOW,” the California Democrat wrote on social media.
Congressman Brad Schneider, chair of the moderate New Democratic Coalition in the U.S. House, called for an investigation into the shooting and for federal agents to leave Minnesota.
“Every agent involved in this shooting must be suspended pending a full and independent investigation and ultimately held to account for their actions today,” Schneider said in a statement. “And, Kristi Noem has got to go. She needs to resign or be fired. If not, Congress must act,” the Illinois Democrat continued.
The man who was shot and killed by a federal officer during an immigration operation has been identified as 37-year-old Alex Pretti. His parents told The Associated Press that Pretti was an intensive care unit nurse.
Vice President JD Vance responded to the shooting in a post on X and said that when he visited Minneapolis this week, “what the ICE agents wanted more than anything was to work with local law enforcement so that situations on the ground didn’t get out of hand.”
He accused local officials in Minnesota of ignoring requests from ICE agents to work with them.
Notably, federal officials refused to cooperate with local officials on an investigation into the shooting death of Renee Good on Jan. 7.
Allison Bross opened her fashion store, b. Resale, next to the shooting scene for the protesters to grab food, water, use the restroom, receive medical attention and get a warm break from the frigid temperatures outside.
“We’re a community-based business, we don’t exist without the community,” she said. “So if we hear someone in our neighborhood is getting hurt, I’m going to be here immediately.”
Meanwhile, a makeshift memorial at a bus stop next to the site of the shooting was taking shape. People left flowers and lit candles.
Sheriff Dawanna Witt has requested assistance from the Minnesota National Guard to support deputies at the Whipple Federal Building so that deputies can be assigned to other areas.
The Minnesota National Guard’s role is to work in support of local law enforcement and emergency responders, providing additional resources, the sheriff's office said.
Their presence is meant to help create a secure environment where all Minnesotans can exercise their rights safely, including the right to peacefully protest.
“We know this moment is challenging for our community. Remember that our local teams are also part of this community. We respect and protect everyone’s rights to voice concerns and stand up for what they believe in, but we urge all actions to remain peaceful and lawful. Our collective priority remains protecting our neighborhoods and keeping people safe,” a statement said.
Trump posted to his Truth Social account after a man was killed by federal officers during an immigration enforcement action in Minneapolis. Trump's statement said:
“This is the gunman’s gun, loaded (with two additional full magazines!), and ready to go – What is that all about? Where are the local Police? Why weren’t they allowed to protect ICE Officers? The Mayor and the Governor called them off? It is stated that many of these Police were not allowed to do their job, that ICE had to protect themselves — Not an easy thing to do! Why does Ilhan Omar have $34 Million Dollars in her account? And where are the Tens of Billions of Dollars that have been stolen from the once Great State of Minnesota? We are there because of massive Monetary Fraud, with Billions of Dollars missing, and Illegal Criminals that were allowed to infiltrate the State through the Democrats’ Open Border Policy. We want the money back, and we want it back, NOW. Those Fraudsters who stole the money are going to jail, where they belong! This is no different than a really big Bank Robbery. Much of what you’re witnessing is a COVER UP for this Theft and Fraud.
"The Mayor and the Governor are inciting Insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous, and arrogant rhetoric! Instead, these sanctimonious political fools should be looking for the Billions of Dollars that has been stolen from the people of Minnesota, and the United States of America. LET OUR ICE PATRIOTS DO THEIR JOB! 12,000 Illegal Alien Criminals, many of them violent, have been arrested and taken out of Minnesota. If they were still there, you would see something far worse than you are witnessing today!””
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.
She said officers 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.”
O’Hara said the man’s only previous interaction with law enforcement as far as he knew was for traffic tickets.
"And we believe he is a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry,” he said.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara appealed for calm, both from the public and from federal law enforcement, following the shooting of a man.
“Our 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,” the chief said.
“We 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.”
Police also clarified that the age of the man shot is 37.
An angry crowd gathered after the shooting 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.
The intersection where the shooting has been blocked off, and Border Patrol agents are on the scene wielding batons.
The shooting happened a day after thousands of demonstrators protesting the crackdown on immigrants crowded the city’s streets in frigid weather, calling for federal law enforcement to leave.
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar has expressed outrage at the shooting of a man during an immigration operation.
“Donald Trump and all your lieutenants who ordered this ICE surge: watch the horrific video of the killing today. The world is watching. Thousands of citizens stopped and harassed. Local police no longer able to do their work. Kids hiding. Schools closed. Get ICE out of Minnesota,” Klobuchar said in a message posted on X.
Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith issued a statement after the shooting of a man during an ICE operation. She said, “We are gathering more information, but ICE must leave now so MPD can secure the scene and do their jobs.”
Rep. Angie Craig said in a statement that she has seen “my own eyes the video of another horrific killing by ICE agents this morning in Minneapolis. This is sickening.
“The agency is beyond out of control. How much more evidence do my Republican colleagues in Minnesota need to speak out?”
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara called for protesters who amassed at the scene of a shooting to stay calm and leave the area. “Please do not destroy our own city,” he said at a press conference.
Rep. Ilhan Omar issued a statement after the shooting of a man by federal officers in Minnesota.
“I am absolutely heartbroken, horrified, and appalled that federal agents murdered another member of our community. It is beyond shameful these federal agents are targeting our residents instead of protecting them,” she said in a statement.
“This isn’t isolated or accidental. The Trump administration is trying to beat us into submission rather than protect us. ...This administration cannot continue violating constitutional rights under the guise of immigration enforcement.”
