Bystander video shows U.S. Border Patrol agents tackling and fatally shooting 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti on January 24, 2026, in Minneapolis as he aided a woman during an ICE operation—contradicting DHS claims of armed resistance. The second fatal shooting in local ICE raids this month has fueled protests, bipartisan calls for investigation, and President Trump's dispatch of border czar Tom Homan to the city.
The incident unfolded around 9 a.m. on January 24 in Minneapolis's Longfellow neighborhood near Nicollet Avenue and West 26th Street during Operation Metro Surge, an ICE effort targeting undocumented immigrants including criminals. Video footage analyzed by The Washington Post and bystanders depicts Pretti, a U.S. citizen with no significant criminal record, legally carrying a 9mm handgun under Minnesota's open-carry laws. He filmed agents before approaching to help a woman suspected of interfering or shoved into a snowbank. Agents pepper-sprayed, surrounded, tackled, and pinned him face-down, securing his weapon before firing approximately 10 shots in five seconds, killing him on the spot. Eyewitnesses noted he did not draw his gun or appear to resist aggressively, with one saying, 'It didn't look like he was trying to resist, just trying to help [the] woman up.'
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem initially labeled Pretti a 'domestic terrorist' intent on inflicting 'maximum damage' and killing law enforcement, while Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino called agents 'the victims.' The administration later softened its stance, with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt blaming local officials' 'hostile resistance.' Pretti's parents described him as deeply caring and upset with ICE actions; colleagues remembered him as kind and community-oriented.
This marks the second fatal shooting by ICE agents in Minneapolis this month, following the January 13 death of Renee Good, intensifying anti-ICE protests coordinated via apps like Signal, with 24/7 monitoring of federal vehicles and crowds at the State Capitol chanting 'ICE out now.' A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order to preserve evidence amid cover-up fears. Protests continue despite freezing weather, drawing gun rights groups decrying Second Amendment violations.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called it an 'invasion' and demanded the operation end; Mayor Jacob Frey voiced outrage. Bipartisan senators—Democrats Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar, Republicans Thom Tillis and Bill Cassidy—urged a joint probe, joined by Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt questioning the 'endgame' and Sen. John Fetterman calling for Noem's firing. Trump described a Monday call with Walz as 'very good,' dispatched Homan to oversee operations (relieving Bovino, who returned to California), and noted Noem's two-hour meeting with him. Despite backlash, ICE reports over 3,500 arrests in the operation, including for murder, child sex crimes, and domestic violence. An investigation into Pretti's death remains ongoing.
