Another fatal shooting involving federal agents has rocked Minneapolis, intensifying anger over an ongoing immigration crackdown and triggering fresh protests across the city.
Authorities confirmed that a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident died in hospital on Saturday after being shot multiple times during an encounter with federal officers.
Police chief Brian O’Hara said the man was a US citizen and that the incident unfolded during a heavy federal law enforcement presence in the city, where immigration raids have been under way for weeks as part of President Donald Trump’s anti-immigration drive. The Department of Homeland Security stated that a US Border Patrol agent fired the shots after the man allegedly approached officers with a handgun and resisted efforts to disarm him, as reported by Al Jazeera.
The killing comes amid daily demonstrations in Minneapolis following the January 7 shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good, who was killed when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fired into her vehicle. Tensions have remained high since then, especially after federal agents also shot a Venezuelan man in a separate incident in the city last week.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz condemned the situation in stark terms, saying immigration enforcement had escalated into what he described as “a campaign of organised brutality” against residents of the state. He confirmed that Minnesota authorities would take charge of investigating the latest death.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the agent involved fired ‘defensive shots’ after the man ‘violently resisted’ while armed. Federal officials added that the officer who fired the shots is an eight-year veteran of the Border Patrol.
President Trump responded on social media by attacking Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, questioning why local police were not protecting federal agents and accusing the city’s leadership of fuelling unrest. He shared images of a handgun that officials say was recovered at the scene.
However, bystander videos circulating online appear to contradict the official account. Footage shows the man holding a phone as he films agents pushing protesters to the ground. He is seen stepping between an agent and two women, raising his arm as he is pepper-sprayed, before being forced to the ground by multiple officers. Moments later, an agent appears to remove a gun from him, after which several shots are fired.
The man’s family later identified him as Alex Pretti, releasing a statement describing him as a compassionate nurse and rejecting claims that he posed a threat. Two witnesses also submitted sworn statements saying Pretti did not brandish a gun during the confrontation.
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