By Keerthi Ramesh
Multiple videos taken by bystanders of a fatal shooting by a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis, appear to contradict the Trump administration’s official statement of how the encounter unfolded, reshaping early public understanding of the incident and intensifying scrutiny of federal immigration enforcement tactics.
Federal authorities say the shooting occurred on Saturday morning during a targeted Department of Homeland Security (DHS) operation in the city’s south side, aimed at capturing an individual suspected of violent assault and for living in the U.S. without authorization.
According to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, the man killed, later identified as 37-year-old Alex Jeffrey Pretti, “approached U.S. Border Patrol officers with a 9-millimeter semiautomatic handgun” and resisted efforts to disarm him, prompting an agent to fire in what officials described as self-defense. President Donald Trump shared images he said depicted the firearm and loaded magazines allegedly found on the man’s person.
READ: South Minneapolis shooting involving federal agents sparks fresh tensions (January 24, 2026)
But videos recorded by multiple witnesses and reviewed by news organizations show a far different sequence of events. In the footage, Pretti appears to be holding a cell phone, not a weapon, in his right hand as he engages with agents on Nicollet Avenue. The recordings show him stepping between a federal officer and another person pushed to the ground and then being pepper-sprayed and forced down by several agents before shots are fired. At one point, a federal officer dressed in a gray jacket emerges from the struggle with what appears to be a firearm, but video does not clearly show Pretti pulling out a weapon before he was shot.
Pretti was pronounced dead at the scene. Minneapolis police have confirmed he was a licensed gun owner and a U.S. citizen who worked at an intensive care unit as a nurse. Pretti’s colleagues and family took to social media to expresses their grief and condolences, sharing their experiences on how kind-hearted he was. City officials, including Police Chief Brian O’Hara, have pushed back against the federal narrative, saying the available video evidence does not clearly show Pretti armed or threatening officers prior to the shooting.
The incident marks the third fatal shooting involving federal immigration agents in Minneapolis in less than three weeks, following the Jan. 7 killing of Renée Good by an ICE agent, a separate case that also drew national attention and protests.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has announced a state investigation and criticized the federal handling of the case, accusing DHS of withholding evidence and undermining local authority. Walz activated the Minnesota National Guard to help manage tensions around the federal facility where the enforcement action took place.
The conflicting accounts have sparked protests in Minneapolis and beyond, with demonstrators calling for greater oversight of Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. National lawmakers from both parties have weighed in, with Democrats condemning the use of force and Republicans defending federal agents’ actions, deepening political divisions over immigration enforcement policy.