A series of graphic bystander and surveillance videos has emerged, providing a harrowing, frame-by-frame look at the moments leading up to the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Jeffrey Pretti by federal agents on Saturday morning.
The footage, which has since gone viral and sparked a fresh wave of unrest across the Twin Cities, appears to directly contradict the initial “self-defense” narrative provided by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). While DHS Secretary Kristi Noem maintained that Pretti “approached officers with a handgun” and “reacted violently,” the visual evidence tells a more complex story of an ICU nurse caught in a split-second escalation.
“What we see on these tapes is not an ‘armed confrontation,’” said Keith Ellison, Minnesota’s Attorney General. “We see a citizen attempting to de-escalate a situation, only to be met with overwhelming and fatal force.”
The Anatomy of an Escalation
The most comprehensive video, obtained by The Minnesota Star Tribune, begins at 9:05 a.m. in the heart of Minneapolis’s “Eat Street.” The temperature is a biting -10°F.
- The Initial Recording: Pretti is seen filming federal agents from a sidewalk as they conduct a “targeted operation.” One hand is holding his cell phone horizontally; his other hand is empty and visible.
- The Intervention: An agent is seen shoving a bystander in a brown jacket. Pretti steps forward, appearing to lead the person away from the agent toward a snowbank to defuse the tension.
- The Takedown: As Pretti attempts to help, an officer immediately sprays him in the face with a chemical irritant. As he stumbles back, blinded, at least six agents wrestle him to the ground.
- The Fatal Volley: While Pretti is pinned by multiple bodies, a single shot rings out, followed by a rapid volley of nine more. Crucially, a third angle appears to show an agent pulling a handgun away from the scrum before the shots are fired, suggesting Pretti may have been disarmed prior to being killed.
A City in the Crosshairs
The location of the shooting—less than two miles from where George Floyd was murdered—has amplified the trauma of a city already reeling from the January 7 killing of Renée Good.
While DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin described the agents’ actions as “defensive shots” fired in fear for their lives, local officials are calling it “organized brutality.” Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara confirmed that Pretti, a respected nurse at the Minneapolis VA, was a “lawful gun owner” with a permit to carry and no criminal record beyond parking tickets.
“He was the type of person you really want to have as a neighbor,” said one resident whose father Pretti cared for in the ICU. “He was as compassionate as a person could be.”
The Investigation Standoff
The release of the video has triggered a jurisdictional war. Despite the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) obtaining a signed search warrant to process the scene, federal agents reportedly blocked state investigators from entering the perimeter for several hours on Saturday.
The War of Words:
- The Federal Claim: Pretti was an “armed suspect” who “violently resisted” and intended to “massacre law enforcement.”
- The State Rebuttal: Governor Tim Walz called the federal narrative “an abomination,” urging the administration to pull agents from the city.
- The Legal Fight: Attorney General Ellison announced he will argue in court on Monday to end Operation Metro Surge, citing a pattern of “unlawful seizures” and racial profiling.
A State Under Siege
In Washington, the video has emboldened calls for a federal pullout. While President Trump has accused Minnesota leaders of “inciting insurrection” by resisting federal law, the visual evidence has forced a national conversation on the tactics used in the current immigration crackdown.
As a vehicle exclusionary zone is established around Nicollet Avenue and the National Guard remains on standby, the video of Alex Pretti’s final moments has become the rallying cry for a city that feels increasingly like an occupied territory.