Federal immigration officers shot and killed a man in Minneapolis on Saturday, as protests continue to rock the city.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara confirmed that the 37-year-old man was killed, but did not identify him.
He was later identified as Alex Pretti, after his parents confirmed his death to The Associated Press. He was an intensive care unit nurse born in Illinois.
“He cared about people deeply and he was very upset with what was happening in Minneapolis and throughout the United States and ICE, as millions of other people are upset,” Michael Pretti said of his son. “He felt that doing the protesting was a way to express that, you know, his care for others.”
The Department of Homeland Security says the man was armed and the agents believed he was a threat. They released a photo of the gun they said he was carrying.
This incident came just one day after an estimated 15,000 people demonstrated Friday in a general strike, where many Minnesotans did not go to work, school or shop as they ask the federal government to remove Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol officers from the city.
The shooting occurred early Saturday in southern Minneapolis and details about what led up to the incident are limited. Video shared online shows officers struggling and forcing a man to the ground before officers pull out their guns and shoot him. Once the man falls to the ground and is limp, officers continued to fire shots at him.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey addressed the public after the shooting, asking the administration to pull its officers from the city.
“How many more Americans need to die or get badly hurt for this operation to end?” he asked.
The Department of Homeland Security defended its Border Patrol agents, and said officers were conducting a targeted operation on an undocumented immigrant wanted for violent assault. They were approached by an individual with a 9 millimeter semi-automatic handgun, DHS said in a post online.
“The officers attempted to disarm the suspect but the armed suspect violently resisted,” the post said. “Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, an agent fired defensive shots.”
DHS noted that more details on the struggle between the individual and officers and the eventual shooting and death are forthcoming. The department did say that the suspect had two magazines and no identification, so it “looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”
Medics delivered aid to the man but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Minneapolis police chief calls for calm
O’Hara said local police believe the man was a lawful gun owner that had a permit to carry. He called for calm and peace from both the public and the federal officials.
“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,” he 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.”
The shooting happened after weeks of protest and unrest in the Twin Cities after the Trump administration deployed federal ICE agents to the area to conduct immigration enforcement. The anger in the city intensified after the killing of 37-year-old Renee Good on Jan. 7, which also occurred under disputed circumstances.
After word spread that the man had been shot, protesters quickly gathered in the area, where officers blocked off the scene for an investigation. Frey and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are asking the administration to let the state conduct the investigation, which was not the case for Good’s murder when federal authorities took over the case and excluded state investigators.
O’Hara and local police are also pushing back on DHS’ requests and said local law enforcement will only be patrolling in marked vehicles from now on.
“We understand your frustrations,” he said. “This is not sustainable.”
Asked about DHS’ claims about the shooting, O’Hara said the video circulating online “speaks for itself.”
In his remarks, Frey called on President Trump to recall the officers from the city and state. He said that for the president, “this is a moment to act like a leader.” He noted that during Friday’s strike, no violence occurred, no windows were broken, and he is tired of being told that Minnesotans are the ones responsible for the violence.
“Those peaceful protests embody the very principles that both Minneapolis and America was founded upon,” Frey said. “Conversely, the mass militarized force and unidentified agents who are occupying our streets, that is what weakens our country. That is what erodes trust in both law enforcement and democracy itself.”
“So to everyone listening, stand with Minneapolis. Stand up for America,” he continued. “Recognize that your children will ask you what side you were on. Your grandchildren will ask you what you did to prevent this from happening.”
Trump weighed in on the shooting online, asking where the local police were. He said that the demonstrations and violence in Minnesota is a cover up of the state’s ongoing fraud investigation.
“Much of what you’re witnessing is a COVER UP for this Theft and Fraud. The Mayor and the Governor are inciting Insurrection, 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,” he wrote.
“LET OUT ICE PATRIOTS DO THEIR JOB!” Trump said. “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!”
Trump’s post comes after he previously threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to “put an end” to the protests.
Amid the protests and tension, Vice President JD Vance also recently traveled to Minnesota to deliver remarks about the ongoing unrest.
Vance urged state and local officials to cooperate with immigration enforcement.
In an address, Walz called on Trump again to remove the federal agents from his state.
“They are sowing chaos and violence. We’ve seen deadly violence from federal agents again, and again, and again,” Walz said.
He announced that he had spoken with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles on Saturday after the shooting. He first asked her to “get her people” out of Minnesota and demanded that the state will handle the investigation.
Walz confirmed that he has called on the Minnesota National Guard to be deployed to Minneapolis with the effort to drive away the ICE agents and have “our people” aid the protesters expressing their First Amendment rights. Soldiers have been on active duty for a week and ready to aid the Hennepin County law enforcement.