Federal immigration agents kill another US citizen in Minneapolis, sparking protests
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- An unidentified man, armed with a handgun, was fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis on Jan 24.
- Minnesota officials, including the governor, strongly condemned the shooting and called for ending immigration enforcement.
- The incident, captured in a video, led to calls for calm amid investigations.
AI generated
MINNEAPOLIS – US immigration agents shot and killed a US citizen in Minneapolis on Jan 24, officials said, sparking fierce protests and condemnations from local leaders in the second such incident in January.
The Department of Homeland Security characterised the incident as an attack, saying a Border Patrol agent fired in self-defence after a man approached with a handgun and violently resisted attempts to disarm him.
But bystander videos from the scene verified by Reuters showed the man, identified as 37-year-old Alex Pretti, holding a phone in his hand, not a gun, as he tries to help other protesters who have been pushed to the ground by agents.
As the videos begin, he can be seen filming as a federal agent pushes one woman away and pushes another person to the ground.
Mr Pretti moves between the agent and the women, then raises his left arm to shield himself and turns away as the agent pepper sprays him.
He turns and tries to aid the woman who has fallen as the agent continues to spray him.
As Mr Pretti lifts up the woman, the agent pulls him off her and he is forced onto his hands and knees by several agents.
One of them pulls an item from Mr Pretti’s waistband and quickly moves away from the scene.
Moments later, an officer with a handgun pointed at Mr Pretti’s back fires four shots in quick succession.
Several more shots can then be heard as another agent appears to fire at Mr Pretti.
The agents initially all back away from Mr Pretti’s body on the road. Some then seem to offer medical assistance to Mr Pretti as other agents keep bystanders back.
The shooting of Mr Pretti, an intensive care nurse, drew hundreds of protesters to the neighbourhood to confront the armed and masked agents, who deployed tear gas and flashbang grenades.
In an unconfirmed video circulating online, masked men hold a person on the ground before scattering as shots are heard.
SCREENSHOTS: X/@MOLLYPLOOFKINS
Demonstrations also broke out in New York, Washington, DC and San Francisco, among other cities.
It also raised tensions between state and federal officials, already at odds with President Donald Trump’s administration over the shooting of another US citizen, Ms Renee Good
They have refused to allow local officials to participate in their investigation of the incident.
Police say man was lawful gun owner
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told reporters the man killed on Jan 24 had attacked agents on an immigration raid, though she did not say whether he pulled out his weapon.
Federal officials posted an image of the gun they say Mr Pretti was carrying at the time of the shooting.
“He wasn’t there to peacefully protest. He was there to perpetuate violence,” she said at a news conference.
Local leaders, including Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, questioned that account.
“I’ve seen the video from several angles and it’s sickening,” he said. “The federal government cannot be trusted to lead this investigation – the state will handle it.”
The head of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Mr Drew Evans, told reporters that federal agents blocked his team’s attempts to begin a probe on Jan 24.
Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara said the man who was killed was a lawful gun owner with no criminal record other than traffic violations.
As people protested the shooting, city police and state troopers arrived to manage the crowd.
The situation appeared to have calmed after federal agents left the area, though protesters remained on the streets for hours.
Local officials pleaded for restraint. “Please do not destroy our city,” Mr O’Hara said.
The nearby Minneapolis Institute of Art said it closed for the day due to safety concerns, and the National Basketball Association postponed a Minnesota Timberwolves game.
Mayor, governor call for operation to end
Mr Walz as well as local and state officials called for an immediate end to the administration’s immigration enforcement operations
“How many more residents, how many more Americans need to die or get badly hurt for this operation to end?” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said at a press conference.
Mr Trump accused local elected officials of stirring up opposition.
“The Mayor and the Governor are inciting Insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous, and arrogant rhetoric,” he wrote on social media.
Vice-President J.D. Vance, who visited the city on Jan 22, accused local leaders of refusing to provide police support to immigration agents.
That drew a fierce response from Mr Walz, who said the immigration crackdown has strained local police resources.
The shooting came one day after more than 10,000 people took to the frigid streets to protest the crackdown.
Before Jan 24’s shooting, residents have been angered by several incidents, including the killing of Ms Good, the detention of a US citizen who was taken from his home in his shorts, and the detention of schoolchildren, including a five-year-old boy. REUTERS
