ICE and federal agents face off with Minneapolis residents and protesters following the fatal shooting of a local resident earlier in the day near Nicollet Avenue and West 26th Street in south Minneapolis, Minnesota, Jan. 24, 2026.
Erin Trieb for NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Erin Trieb for NPR
A man shot Saturday morning by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis has died, federal and local officials said.
The man was identified by state officials as Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse and Minneapolis resident.
The incident marks the third shooting involving federal immigration agents in Minneapolis this month.
“Today, federal agents beat and then shot multiple times and killed 37-year-old Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a U.S. citizen, a Minneapolis resident, and a V.A. nurse,” U.S. Sen. Tina Smith said in a news conference this afternoon. “Eyewitness video shows, once again, reckless, violent, and dangerous federal agents taking the life of a Minnesotan.”
ICE and federal agents face off with Minneapolis residents and protesters following the fatal shooting of a local resident earlier in the day near Nicollet Avenue and West 26th Street in south Minneapolis, Jan. 24, 2026.
Erin Trieb for NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Erin Trieb for NPR
ICE and federal agents face off with Minneapolis residents and protesters following the fatal shooting of a local resident earlier in the day in south Minneapolis, Jan. 24, 2026.
Erin Trieb for NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Erin Trieb for NPR
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said he intends to seek a temporary restraining order from a judge on Monday that would immediately stop the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Earlier this month, an agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement shot and killed Renee Macklin Good, another 37-year-old Minneapolis resident and mother of three.
The shooting occurred shortly after 9 a.m. Central Time on the city’s South Side when federal law enforcement officers were conducting a targeted operation against a man the Department of Homeland Security said was undocumented and wanted for “violent assault.”
Gregory Bovino, head of U.S. Border Patrol, said a different man — the one who was fatally shot — approached Border Patrol agents with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun. Bovino said agents attempted to disarm the man, but he “violently resisted.” The agent shot and killed the man in self-defense, according to Bovino.
“This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a social media post.
ICE and federal agents face off with Minneapolis residents and protesters following the fatal shooting of a local resident earlier in the day on Jan. 24, 2026.
Erin Trieb for NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Erin Trieb for NPR
Minneapolis residents and protesters gathered following the fatal shooting of a local resident earlier in the day in south Minneapolis, Jan. 24, 2026.
Erin Trieb for NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Erin Trieb for NPR
Bystander video, posted to social media and not independently confirmed by NPR, appears to contradict DHS’ account of the shooting. The footage appears to show multiple federal agents surrounding a man on the ground, with several punching him and trying to restrain him before an agent shoots him. It’s unclear whether the man brandished or tried to use the firearm that federal officials said he had in his possession.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said at a news conference Saturday afternoon that Pretti’s only known interaction with police was for traffic tickets.
“We believe he is a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry,” O’Hara said.
Pretti was shot multiple times, possibly by more than one federal officer, O’Hara said. He was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
“We were not provided any public safety statement around the incident…” he said.
Bovino said the officer who fired the shots was “highly trained” and has worked as a Border Patrol agent for the last eight years. He said the shooting remains under investigation.
Macklin Good was fatally shot on Jan. 7 in her SUV as she drove away after partially blocking a Minneapolis street.
Protesters respond at the site where a federal agent shot and killed a man in Minneapolis on Jan. 24, 2026
Zaydee Sanchez for NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Zaydee Sanchez for NPR
Protesters respond at the site where a federal agent shot and killed a man in Minneapolis on Jan. 24, 2026.
ZAYDEE SANCHEZ
hide caption
toggle caption
ZAYDEE SANCHEZ
On Jan. 14, Julio Cesar Sosa-Celia, a Venezuelan national, was shot in the leg by immigration officers during an altercation with those agents.
“Minnesota has had it,” Gov. Tim Walz posted on social media this morning. “This is sickening.”
Walz post that he spoke with someone from the White House after the shooting and called on President Trump to end the immigration operation immediately.
This story originally appeared on NPR
