MINNEAPOLIS — A federal immigration agent shot and killed a 37-year-old Minneapolis man Saturday, the second fatal shooting this month, weeks after the killing of Renee Good and a series of high-profile detentions.
The man killed, identified by family as Alex Pretti, was a 37-year-old ICU nurse.
“He cared about people deeply, and he was very upset with what was happening in Minneapolis and throughout the United States with ICE, as millions of other people are upset,” his father, Michael Pretti, told The Associated Press. “He felt that doing the protesting was a way to express that, you know, his care for others.”
Pretti’s final moments were caught on cell phone video from several onlookers. As the videos circulated, a debate began between immigration officials and state and local leaders about whether the actions of the federal agent were justified.
Pretti’s shooting, captured on a video posted to Facebook and verified by FWRD AXIS News, was followed by a heated confrontation between officers and protesters.
In the video, agents are seen wrestling a man to the ground. A second cellphone video appears to show the moments leading to the shooting, which include Pretti appearing to come to the aid of a person who had been pushed to the ground by immigration agents. Several people are seen in the street filming immigration agents when an officer appears to shove someone to the ground. An officer appears to spray Pretti in the face before dragging him to the ground. Several agents surround Pretti when a series of shots are fired.
The Department of Homeland Security said that its officers were conducting a targeted immigration operation when an armed Minneapolis resident approached them.
Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino said the officer who fired the shots had been serving as a Border Patrol agent for eight years, with “extensive training as a range safety officer and less lethal officer.”
Videos have not provided evidence to support the claims by DHS. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem declined to say whether Pretti pulled out a gun before the federal agent shot him.
It is legal to carry a gun in Minnesota, and Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said earlier today that Pretti legally owned a weapon.
