MINNEAPOLIS — A quiet Saturday morning in south Minneapolis was shattered at 9:05 a.m. when federal agents fatally shot Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse and local resident, marking the third time in seventeen days that federal personnel have discharged weapons in the city.
The shooting occurred at the intersection of 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue—the heart of the city’s “Eat Street”—amidst an ongoing, high-intensity immigration crackdown. As temperatures plunged to -10°F, the intersection transformed from a commercial corridor into a crime scene that local officials say federal agents are now “occupying” by force.
“Minnesota has had it,” Governor Tim Walz said in a searing afternoon press conference. “This is an absolute abomination. We are watching a campaign of organized brutality against the people of our state.”
Disputed Accounts and Viral Evidence
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was quick to defend the lethal force. In a statement, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin alleged that Pretti “approached U.S. Border Patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun” during a targeted operation. She claimed agents fired “defensive shots” after an “armed suspect reacted violently” during a disarming attempt.
However, bystander footage and a preliminary video analysis by The New York Times and CNN paint a far more chaotic picture:
- The Footage: Videos show Pretti filming agents with his phone and directing traffic away from the scene.
- The Escalation: Pretti appears to step in to help a legal observer who was shoved by an agent. He is then pepper-sprayed and tackled by at least six agents.
- The Disarming: Close-up analysis of one video angle appears to show an agent pulling a firearm from the scuffle and running away with it before the fatal volley of roughly ten shots is fired.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara confirmed that Pretti was a “lawful gun owner with a permit to carry” and had no criminal record beyond traffic tickets.
A City Under Federal ‘Occupation’
The death of Pretti, an American citizen and veteran’s nurse at the Minneapolis VA, has brought the city to a boiling point. It follows the January 7 killing of Renée Nicole Good, another 37-year-old citizen shot by ICE agents.
| Figure | Role | Stance / Quote |
| Alex Pretti | Victim | ICU nurse, avid outdoorsman, and peaceful protester. |
| Kristi Noem | DHS Secretary | Claims Pretti intended to “massacre law enforcement.” |
| Tim Walz | MN Governor | Called on Trump to “pull the 3,000 violent agents out of Minnesota.” |
| Brian O’Hara | MPD Chief | Demanding federal agencies act with “discipline, humanity, and integrity.” |
The Jurisdictional Standoff
In an unprecedented move, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) reported that federal agents blocked state investigators from the scene for hours. Even after the BCA returned with a search warrant signed by a judge, federal representatives reportedly refused them access to the evidence.
Governor Walz has since activated the Minnesota National Guard, not to assist federal operations, but to stand as a buffer and “secure justice” for state investigators. Meanwhile, protests have erupted in cities from Boston to New York, with demonstrators braving subzero winds to chant “ICE out now.”
As the sun sets over a boarded-up Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis remains a city caught between its local leaders and a federal administration that appears ready to bypass state law entirely.