By Mandy Taheri
Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
A second fatal shooting by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis this month occurred Saturday, in what is the third shooting involving federal agents in the city in recent weeks.
Why It Matters
The incident comes as tensions escalated earlier this month in the city after two separate shootings involving immigration officials—one that killed Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old American citizen, and another that left Venezuelan migrant Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis injured during an attempted detention.
Read More on News
Democrats have repeated calls for ICE to leave the state and communities nationwide. DHS announced Operation Metro Surge in the Minneapolis area in December and have since brought thousands of federal immigration enforcement officers.
What to Know
On Saturday, federal immigration officers shot and killed a 37-year-old man, who has been identified as Alex Jeffrey Pretti. The shooting occurred around 9:03 local time at E 26th and Nicolett Ave, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said.
A widely circulated video shows several federal agents wrestling a man to the ground before he is shot multiple times. Local officials have confirmed he was killed. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the individual approached the agents with a firearm, leading agents to shoot in defense.
Saturday's fatal shooting took place about a mile from where Good was fatally shot earlier this month near East 34th Street and Portland Avenue. Good’s shooting site is about a mile from where George Floyd was killed by police officer Derek Chauvin in 2020.
An ICE agent fatally shot Good on January 7 while she was in her car. DHS has insisted that she was a threat to federal agents and that the agent fired in self-defense, while Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and other leading Democrats have sharply criticized ICE's actions.
A week later, on January 14 Sosa-Celis was shot several miles north of Good. DHS said in a press release that agents were trying to detain Sosa‑Celis when he fled a traffic stop and resisted arrest. An officer fired and struck him in the leg. Both the officer and Sosa‑Celis were hospitalized after the incident.
...
In a statement to Newsweek about the fatal shooting, DHS said it occurred during a “targeted operation in Minneapolis against an illegal alien wanted for violent assault.”
DHS said at approximately 9:05 AM CT, "an individual approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun. The officers attempted to disarm the suspect but the armed suspect violently resisted,” prompting an agent to fire "defensive shots." Medics on scene provided immediate aid, but the individual was pronounced dead at the scene, the agency said.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said during a press conference on Saturday that the police were unaware of what happened prior to the video recording, and noted that the individual was a "lawful gun owner with a permit to carry."
...
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post on Saturday: "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!...LET OUR ICE PATRIOTS DO THEIR JOB!"
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said on X: "I just spoke with the White House after another horrific shooting by federal agents this morning. Minnesota has had it. This is sickening. The President must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now."
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey during a press conference on Saturday, in part: "How many times must local and national leaders must plead with you, Donald Trump, to end this operation and recognize that this is not creating safety in our city...We have seen these kinds of operations in other places, in other countries, but not here in America. Not in a way where a great American city is being invaded by its own federal government. I'm done being told that our community members are responsible for the vitriol in our streets. I'm done being told our local elected officials are solely responsible for turning down the temperature."
Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Ken Martin said in an X post: "This morning, ICE shot and killed yet another person in my home state of Minnesota. The violence committed by Donald Trump’s armed, untrained federal agents must end. Get ICE out of Minnesota NOW."
Representative Jasmine Crockett, a Texas Democrat, said in an X post: "ICE just killed another person in Minneapolis. This is absolutely sickening. Donald Trump needs to get his unqualified, untrained, violent agents the hell out of Minnesota IMMEDIATELY."
What Happens Next
An investigation into the incident and Pretti's death are ongoing.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines