Federal agent shoots and kills man in Minneapolis, rousing more demonstrations

People gather near the scene of 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue, where federal agents shot and killed a 37-year-old man Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, the third shooting in as many weeks. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)

A ​​federal agent fatally shot a man in Minneapolis on Saturday amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, escalating tensions after another killing earlier in the month. 

It was the third shooting by immigration officers in the city in three weeks – and the second to end in death. Democratic local and state officials immediately condemned Saturday’s shooting as protests ramped up, and Republican President Donald Trump threatened again to send military troops to Minnesota.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said federal agents killed a 37-year-old man whom officials believe is a U.S. citizen who lives in Minneapolis. Video of the shooting was captured by observers and posted to social media.

The man who was killed has been identified as Alex Jeffrey Pretti in a statement from Sen. Zaynab Mohamed, DFL-Minneapolis, and by the Star Tribune and The Associated Press.

O’Hara said he had no information about what led up to the shooting but said the man, whom he did not name, was a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry. O’Hara says police have not interacted with the deceased other than a few traffic tickets.

Protesters line streets

Hundreds of protesters gathered near where the shooting happened, despite subzero temperatures. Many wore gas masks and eye protection — common in the Twin Cities, where demonstrations started when immigration officers arrived in December. 

Federal agents deployed tear gas and flash bangs to push back the crowds, which lined up at several intersections near the site of the shooting shouting, “Shame!” and “ICE out, f*ck ICE!”

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey again urged the federal government to end its two-month immigration siege, which has brought 3,000 federal officers to Minnesota, or nearly five times the number of sworn Minneapolis police officers.

“How many times must local and national leaders plead with you, Donald Trump, to end this operation and recognize that this is not creating safety in our city?” Mayor Jacob Frey said.

Gov. Tim Walz said he’d spoken to the White House after the shooting, but he doesn’t have confidence federal officials will change their actions or leave the state. He said the Department of Homeland Security has rushed to judgement and is already slandering the man who was killed.

“Minnesotans: You know who you are, and you demonstrate it every single day,” Walz said. “And we damn sure know who these people are. The American public knows. This needs to be the event that says, ‘enough.’”

Law enforcement blocked off the streets and deployed tear gas to dissuade angry demonstrators from going near the site of the shooting, which was on Nicollet Avenue just south of 26th Street. Over 100 federal agents were on the scene after the shooting. 

Federal officers unleashed a cloud of tear gas in the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis after a third Minnesotan was shot by the feds, Jan. 24, 2026. (Photo by Madison McVan/Minnesota Reformer)

O’Hara urged demonstrators to go home. State Patrol and other state law enforcement were there also in an attempt to keep the peace.

Video captures shooting

In a graphic video now circulating on social media, six federal agents appear to wrestle the man to the ground in front of the New American Development Center. One of the agents hits the man three times with what appears to be a firearm. Bystanders are surrounding the group and filming on their cell phones. 

Over 10 shots can be heard in the video, but it’s unclear if more than one agent fired a weapon.

The Department of Homeland Security said in a social media post that officers were conducting a targeted operation in Minneapolis against someone illegally in the U.S. “wanted for violent assault,” when another person approached U.S. Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm handgun.

Video shows an agent in a gray jacket approach the man as he’s being held on the ground by multiple other agents and then walk away with what appears to be a gun in his hand, before shots are fired.

“The officers attempted to disarm the suspect but the armed suspect violently resisted. More details on the armed struggle are forthcoming,” Homeland Security said. “Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, an agent fired defensive shots. Medics on scene immediately delivered medical aid to the subject but was pronounced dead at the scene.”

U.S. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino said in a press conference that the officer who shot the man is “highly trained” and served as a Border Patrol agent for eight years. Bovino said the agent has “extensive training as a Range Safety Officer,” to ensure people on a gun range are using it safely.

The parents of Alex Pretti, Michael and Susan Pretti, released a statement Saturday, castigating the Trump administration for slandering their son with “sickening lies” that they called “reprehensible and disgusting.” 

They defended their son’s conduct, saying he was protecting a woman who had been pushed down by federal agents. “Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man. Thank you.”

Conflict between state and federal law enforcement

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which typically investigates law enforcement shootings, said in a social media post their agents arrived at the scene of Saturday’s killing at the request of the Minneapolis Police Department but were blocked from accessing the location by the Department of Homeland Security.

BCA Superintendent Drew Evans said that after BCA officials were blocked from the scene of the shooting, they obtained a signed judicial warrant to gain access. BCA officials returned to the scene, but DHS agents still denied access.

People react to copious tear gas and flash grenades deployed by federal agents near the scene of 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue, where federal agents shot and killed a 37-year-old man Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, the third shooting in as many weeks. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)

The BCA began a joint investigation into the ICE officer shooting of Renee Good earlier this month before being abruptly shut out of the investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, hindering local prosecutors from being able to consider if criminal charges are warranted against the officer.

Walz expressed disbelief that the federal agents were able to leave the scene with little to no investigation.

“You kill a man and then you just leave?” the governor said. “Is there a single case in American history where you just, like, walk away and say, ‘I guess that just happened and we’re not going to clean up our mess.’”

Walz said the federal agents involved in the shooting will be held accountable.

“Minnesota’s justice system will have the last word,” the governor said.

Trump posted a rambling response to the shooting on his social media platform referencing U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar’s bank account and saying “what you’re witnessing” is part of a cover up for Medicaid fraud.

“The Mayor and the Governor are inciting insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous and arrogant rhetoric,” Trump wrote, reviving a threat to invoke the Insurrection Act and send military troops into the streets of Minnesota. 

Accounts contradict Homeland Security

Homeland Security statements about the previous shootings have later been found to be false or misleading. After the Jan. 7 killing of Good, the department referred to her as a “domestic terrorist.” 

A 911 call after a second shooting, of a Venezuelan man in north Minneapolis, suggests that the agent shot at the man as he was trying to escape into a house, which would contradict the Department of Homeland Security account that the federal immigration agent fired a shot defensively. In a sworn affidavit, an FBI agent confirmed that the agent shot the man when he had begun running toward the house, the Star Tribune reported.

As Reformer sibling publication Stateline recently reported, Homeland Security recently revised its account of a December shooting in Glen Burnie, Maryland, after local police contradicted its initial version. The agency first claimed both men injured in the incident were inside a van that ICE officers fired at in self-defense, but later said that one of the injured men had already been arrested and was in custody inside an ICE vehicle when he was hurt. The other man was shot twice and is facing two federal criminal charges.

In August, federal immigration agents fired at a family’s vehicle three times in San Bernardino, California. Homeland Security maintained the shooting was justified after at least two agents were struck by the vehicle, but available footage shows an agent breaking the driver-side window moments before gunfire erupted. Surveillance footage from the street does not show agents being struck by the vehicle.

The Saturday shooting comes one day after tens of thousands of people protested ICE in downtown Minneapolis in subzero temperatures. 

The Minnesota National Guard has been on active duty for over a week, meaning that they are prepared to rapidly respond if they are deployed. Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt on Saturday requested support from the National Guard to help them provide security at the federal Whipple Building — the site of ongoing protests. It’s unclear how many guard members will be stationed there.

People react to copious tear gas and flash grenades deployed by federal agents near the scene of 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue, where federal agents shot and killed a 37-year-old man Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, the third shooting in as many weeks. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)

Reformer Deputy Editor Max Nesterak and Reporter Alyssa Chen contributed to this report.