Videos quickly emerged Saturday showing the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis protester by a Border Patrol agent, with Democratic leaders in Minnesota saying the footage showed the deadly encounter was the result of untrained federal officers overreacting and the Trump administration saying the man provoked the violence.
It was the second fatal shooting in Minneapolis by federal immigration authorities this month. The first, on Jan. 7, involved Renee Good. It also was captured on videos and produced a similar schism among political leaders.
On Saturday, at around 9 a.m., a Border Patrol agent shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti after a roughly 30-second scuffle. The Trump administration said shots were fired “defensively” against Pretti, who federal authorities said had a semiautomatic handgun and was “violently” resisting officers.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who said he watched one of several videos, said he saw “more than six masked agents pummeling one of our constituents, shooting him to death.” Frey has said Minneapolis and St. Paul are being “invaded” by the administration’s largest immigration crackdown, dubbed Operation Metro Surge.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Pretti attacked officers, and Customs and Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino said he wanted to do “maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.” In posts on X, President Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller called Pretti “a would-be assassin.”
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The shooting Saturday occurred when officers were pursuing a man in the country illegally wanted for domestic assault, Bovino said. Protesters routinely try to disrupt such operations and they sounded their high-pitched whistles, honked horns and yelled out at the officers.
Among them was Pretti. At one point, in a video obtained by The Associated Press, Pretti is standing in the street and holding up his phone. He’s face-to-face with an officer in a tactical vest, who places his hand on Pretti and pushes him toward the sidewalk.
Pretti is talking to the officer, though it’s not clear what he is saying.
The video shows protesters wandering in and out of the street as officers persist in trying to talk them back. One protester is put in handcuffs. Some officers are carrying pepper spray cannisters.
Pretti comes in again when the video shows an officer wearing tactical gear shoving a protester. The protester, who is wearing a skirt over black tights and holding a water bottle, reaches out for Pretti.
The same officer shoves Pretti in his chest, leading Pretti and the other protester to stumble backwards.
A different video then shows Pretti moving toward another protester, who falls over after being shoved by the same officer. Pretti moves between the protester and the officer, reaching his arms out toward the officer. The officer deploys pepper spray, and Pretti raises his hand and turns his face. The officer grabs Pretti’s hand to bring it behind his back, and deploys the pepper spray cannister again and then pushes Pretti away.
Seconds later, at least a half-dozen federal officers surround Pretti, who is wrestled to the ground and hit several times. Several agents try to bring Pretti’s arms behind his back, and he struggles.
An officer who is hovering over the scuffle with his right hand on Pretti’s back in one video backs away from the group just before the first shot. In the video provided to The AP, the same officer is moving away with what appears to be a gun in his right hand.
After about 20 seconds, the first shot is fired.
Videos do not clearly show who fired the first shot. In one video, seconds before the first shot, one officer reaches for his belt and appears to draw his gun. That same officer is seen with a gun to Pretti’s back as three more shots ring out. Pretti slumps to the ground. Videos show the officers backing away, some with guns drawn. More shots are fired.
The Department of Homeland Security said Pretti was shot after he “approached” Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun. Officials did not say if Pretti, who is licensed to carry a concealed weapon, brandished the gun or kept it hidden.
An agency statement said officers fired “defensive shots” after Pretti “violently resisted” officers tried to disarm him.
Walz expressed dismay at the characterization.
“I’ve seen the videos, from several angles, and it’s sickening,” he said.
President Donald Trump weighed in on social media by lashing out Walz and Frey. Trump shared images of the gun that immigration officials said was recovered from Pretti and said “What is that all about? Where are the local Police? Why weren’t they allowed to protect ICE Officers?”
