Federal Immigration Agents Kill Man in Minneapolis Amid Crackdown on Undocumented Migrants
A US citizen was shot dead by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis on Saturday, sparking widespread outrage and protests in the city. The incident is the second fatal shooting of a civilian in Minneapolis since January 7, when an ICE officer killed Renee Good, another US citizen.
The victim, identified as Alex Jeffrey Pretti, 37, was an intensive care nurse at the Veterans Administration who had participated in anti-immigration protests following Good's killing. According to his family, Pretti cared deeply about people and was outraged by President Donald Trump's immigration policies in Minneapolis.
Pretti, a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry, was shot after allegedly approaching Border Patrol officers with a 9mm semiautomatic handgun. However, it is unclear whether he brandished the gun or if there were any other factors involved in the shooting.
Federal officials claim that Pretti approached agents and they fired defensive shots, but family members dispute this account. They say Pretti had never been involved with law enforcement before, aside from a couple of traffic tickets.
Protests erupted immediately after the killing, with thousands of people taking to the streets to condemn the incident. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey urged President Trump to end the federal immigration operation, which has sparked violent demonstrations in the city.
"This is a moment to act like a leader," Frey said. "Put Minneapolis and America first in this moment – let's achieve peace. Let's end this operation."
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz also condemned the killing, saying that he had discussed it with the White House. "Minnesota has had it. This is sickening," he said. "The President must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now."
Trump responded to the incident by defending his immigration policies and accusing local officials of inciting insurrection. The killing has sparked international condemnation, with Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar calling for Trump to take responsibility for the violence.
The shooting highlights the increasingly tense situation in Minneapolis, which has been rocked by protests since Good's killing. Thousands of ICE agents have been deployed to the city as part of a sweeping campaign to deport undocumented migrants.
A US citizen was shot dead by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis on Saturday, sparking widespread outrage and protests in the city. The incident is the second fatal shooting of a civilian in Minneapolis since January 7, when an ICE officer killed Renee Good, another US citizen.
The victim, identified as Alex Jeffrey Pretti, 37, was an intensive care nurse at the Veterans Administration who had participated in anti-immigration protests following Good's killing. According to his family, Pretti cared deeply about people and was outraged by President Donald Trump's immigration policies in Minneapolis.
Pretti, a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry, was shot after allegedly approaching Border Patrol officers with a 9mm semiautomatic handgun. However, it is unclear whether he brandished the gun or if there were any other factors involved in the shooting.
Federal officials claim that Pretti approached agents and they fired defensive shots, but family members dispute this account. They say Pretti had never been involved with law enforcement before, aside from a couple of traffic tickets.
Protests erupted immediately after the killing, with thousands of people taking to the streets to condemn the incident. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey urged President Trump to end the federal immigration operation, which has sparked violent demonstrations in the city.
"This is a moment to act like a leader," Frey said. "Put Minneapolis and America first in this moment – let's achieve peace. Let's end this operation."
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz also condemned the killing, saying that he had discussed it with the White House. "Minnesota has had it. This is sickening," he said. "The President must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now."
Trump responded to the incident by defending his immigration policies and accusing local officials of inciting insurrection. The killing has sparked international condemnation, with Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar calling for Trump to take responsibility for the violence.
The shooting highlights the increasingly tense situation in Minneapolis, which has been rocked by protests since Good's killing. Thousands of ICE agents have been deployed to the city as part of a sweeping campaign to deport undocumented migrants.
This whole thing is just so messed up 
. I mean, come on, US citizens getting shot by their own government agents? It's like something out of a movie 
. Alex Pretti was just trying to stand up for what he believed in, and what did he get? A bullet wound 
. And now Minneapolis is burning 
, with thousands taking to the streets in protest. The whole thing feels so... unfair 
. I think we need to take a step back and ask ourselves if this is really how we're going to treat our own people 
. It's like the government has lost all sense of compassion and empathy 
. And what about President Trump's response? Accusing local officials of inciting insurrection? That's just despicable 
. Can't he see that this is exactly what's happening - a bunch of people who are scared, angry, and feeling ignored 
. We need to find a way to calm this down, to talk things through and find some common ground 
. It's time for us to come together as a nation, not tear ourselves apart 
.
. As a society, we must strive for empathy, understanding, and constructive dialogue to address these complex issues. The Minneapolis community has shown remarkable resilience in the face of injustice, and I hope that our leaders will take this as an opportunity to engage in meaningful reform rather than resorting to further entrenchment 
... what's the solution here? we need to stop having these kinda incidents happen in the first place, but how do we do that when ppl like trump are fueling the fire with their hate speech? 
... i just feel so frustrated and scared for the future of our country 
.
this is getting outta hand fam, can't we just talk about this stuff without someone gettin killed? alex pretti was a good dude who cared about people and wanna make a change, but now he's gone because of the system we got set up for immigration 
. it's all about politicians and power struggles instead of people's lives 
. meanwhile, minneapolis is gettin destroyed over here because of it 
. can't we all just get along and find a way to make this work? 
... what would you do if u were in his shoes? 
This is super crazy what happened in Minneapolis 
. The international community is speaking out, which is about time. We need leaders who care more about people than politics 
. We can do better than this 
.
as a nurse, he must've seen some dark stuff already but this is just brutal... how can anyone justify taking a life like that? 
. And for what? Because he stood up against Trump's rhetoric and got caught in the crossfire? It's like, can't we all just get along? 
I'm still fumin' about this! Another innocent person loses their life at the hands of federal immigration agents? It's just not right! 
. We need more leaders like him, not someone who's just gonna keep on blaming everyone else 
. I mean, an innocent guy is killed by law enforcement while exercising his right to protest, and the response from Trump is to defend his policies? 
.
thousands taking to the streets, protests spreading like wildfire... what's next? 
the US government needs to take responsibility for this and figure out a better way to handle these situations without ending up with innocent people getting hurt 
. The fact that the President is defending his policies instead of calling for calm is just mind-blowing 