The fatal shooting of a US citizen by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis on Saturday, the second such incident in the city this month, triggered fresh protests and strong calls from local leaders for the Trump administration to halt its operations there.
Federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, during a confrontation on an icy road. His death came less than three weeks after another immigration officer fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Good while she was inside her car.
Soon after the incident, the Trump administration maintained that Pretti posed a threat to the agents, echoing its stance following Good’s killing. The Department of Homeland Security said a pistol and ammunition were found on him.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said authorities believed Pretti was present to carry out violence, while White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller described him as an attacker in a social media post later shared by Vice President JD Vance, AFP reported.
However, as in the earlier case, video footage circulating in the media cast doubt on the official account. The footage, which AFP said it had not independently verified, appeared to show Pretti filming the agents on a snow-lined street and helping direct traffic.
The video reportedly showed an agent pushing a woman protester to the ground, after which Pretti stepped between them and was sprayed with a chemical irritant. An officer then pulled him onto the roadway, where several agents struggled to restrain him on the ice.
Moments later, after an officer appeared to retrieve a gun from Pretti’s clothing, the agents opened fire, shooting him multiple times even after he lay motionless on the ground.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz described the shooting as deeply disturbing and said the state would take charge of the investigation. He said the federal government could not be relied upon to lead the probe and insisted that state authorities would handle it.
Federal agencies have meanwhile drawn criticism for preventing local investigators from jointly examining the earlier killing of Renee Good.