Alex Pretti killing in Minneapolis by federal agents: what we know so far

A 37-year-old nurse named Alex Pretti was shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Saturday. Protesters on Saturday were on the streets as were federal, state and local law enforcement. Much remains unknown, unclear or unconfirmed about what happened and why.Here’s what we know so far: The man who was killed by federal agents on Saturday has been identified as Alex Pretti, 37, a registered nurse working in the intensive care unit at the Minneapolis-va-health-care-system" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="18208" data-entity-type="organization">Minneapolis VA Health Care System. A video circulating online on Saturday morning, which matches the reported location of the shooting mentioned by the officials, showed a man being wrestled to the ground by several law enforcement officers before being shot what appears to be several times. At least two officers can be seen with their weapons drawn. In a second, more comprehensive video of the shooting, obtained and posted online by Drop Site News, Pretti appeared to come to the defense of an observer who had been shoved to the ground by a federal officer. That officer then sprayed Pretti with a chemical agent, repeatedly, before tackling him to the street along with other agents. At least five agents surrounded Pretti on the ground, and one appeared to fire a shot at him at close range. The shot was followed by a volley of more shots, after which Pretti’s body goes still. The visual evidence in the second video seems consistent with the interpretation that a gun appeared to have been taken away by one agent just before another shot him. Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara later said during a press conference on Saturday that Pretti’s only known previous interaction with law enforcement was for traffic tickets. O’Hara also noted Pretti was “a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry”. The Department of Homeland Security, the parent agency of ICE and the Border Patrol, said that Pretti was pronounced dead at the scene. The federal agency said an agent fired “defensive shots”. It characterized protesters as “rioters”, saying there were about 200 people on the scene in south Minneapolis trying to “obstruct and assault law enforcement”. Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino said at a news conference that an officer with eight years of experience at Bovino’s agency shot and killed Pretti. It’s the second fatal shooting this month in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in addition to another non-fatal shooting, amid a major crackdown in Minnesota by federal agents. Officials urged people to “remain peaceful and recognize there is a lot of anger and questions around what has happened”. Protesters were heard calling “shame, shame” at officers after Pretti’s shooting, blowing whistles and shouting for ICE to leave the city. The agents responded with teargas and flash-bang grenades. Minneapolis’s mayor, Jacob Frey, called on Donald Trump to “end this operation” of federal immigration enforcement agents and officers surging into Minneapolis, and demanded that the US president “take action now to remove these federal agents”. At the same press conference, police chief Brian O’Hara acknowledged immense anger in the city at the shooting but pleaded for calm. Minnesota’s governor, Tim Walz, has staged national guard troops ready to help in keeping order in Minneapolis as protest and outrage at violent conduct by federal immigration personnel continue. Walz had activated them earlier in January, putting them under his orders to be ready if needed. Staging essentially means gathering and preparing to be on the streets. Initially, some troops are going to guard a federal building. Walz gave a strongly worded press conference, calling the actions of the immigration enforcement officers that surged into Minneapolis a “federal occupation”. He said he had seen bystander footage of the fatal shooting of Pretti and thought it was “sickening”. Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, accusing Walz and Frey of “inciting insurrection” with their exhortations for the US president to end the surge of federal immigration enforcement personnel to the city. Trump said they were there to make the city safer; local leaders said they were making the city much less safe, as the agents were instilling fear and behave violently.