Full story
Border Patrol shooting Minneapolis
On Jan. 24, federal Border Patrol officers shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Jeffrey Pretti during a Department of Homeland Security immigration-enforcement operation in south Minneapolis.
“A Border Patrol agent fatally shot 37‑year‑old Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday.”
The incident immediately sparked public outcry and street protests.
Multiple outlets reported the core fact that a federal agent fired during the operation and the person later died, while specific details about what led to the shooting remain contested.
CNN reported that a Border Patrol agent fatally shot 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday.
The AP summarized that the shooting touched off protests and clashes with federal agents in a city already shaken by a Jan. 7 ICE-related fatal shooting.
BBC likewise confirmed the death during a DHS targeted operation and said medics pronounced him dead at the scene.
Disputed border shooting accounts
Eyewitness accounts, interior footage and government statements sharply diverge over whether Pretti was armed and how the encounter unfolded.
DHS and Border Patrol spokespeople say agents tried to disarm a man who approached with a 9mm handgun and that an agent fired 'defensive shots.'
Agencies released a photo of a gun and two magazines, a detail reported by BBC, CBS News and The Guardian.
By contrast, family members and bystander videos highlighted by CNN and AP show Pretti holding a phone and an empty hand and say the videos do not clearly show a weapon.
CNN's video analysis noted an officer appearing to remove a gun from a scuffle before multiple shots were fired.
The analysis added that it remained unclear who fired first or whether the officer who removed the weapon warned others.
Protests and police response
The incident ignited major on-the-ground unrest, with hundreds of protesters gathering.
“Hundreds of protesters clashed with federal officers, who used batons, flash‑bangs, tear gas and pepper spray; the Minnesota National Guard was deployed.”
Police and federal officers clashed with crowds, and authorities used crowd-control measures including tear gas, flash-bangs, batons and pepper spray.
AP, CNN and BBC described protests and clashes at the scene.
AP and local reporting said the Minnesota National Guard was deployed, and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the FBI opened probes as the scene was secured.
Video circulated showing officers wrestling people to the ground, and a separate scuffle on Nicollet Avenue in which a shot rang out amid the struggle.
Police used less-lethal munitions to disperse crowds as tensions escalated.
Political and legal fallout
The shooting set off immediate political and legal fallout, with local leaders demanding independent, transparent investigations while some federal figures defended the operation.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey publicly criticized the federal deployment and called for state-led probes, according to AP, BBC and thetriibe summaries.
AP quoted Walz saying the state would lead the probe after federal agents reportedly blocked access.
DHS and Border Patrol reiterated that an agent fired in self-defense and said the individual matched descriptions of a person wanted for violent assault, per CBS and CNN.
NBC and AP noted that the FBI and Department of Justice were assisting or involved in the probe.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer warned he might withhold DHS funding in negotiations.
Media coverage of shooting
Observers place the shooting in the broader context of an expanded federal immigration enforcement presence in Minneapolis following prior deadly and controversial encounters.
“A federal immigration enforcement operation sent by the Trump administration in Minneapolis has sparked a political and public‑safety crisis, straining relations among federal, state and local officials and increasing partisan debate and community fear about cooperating with law enforcement.”
Several outlets, including Folha de S.Paulo, The Guardian and Time, framed the incident as part of a political and public-safety crisis tied to a Trump administration crackdown and the earlier killing of ICE officer Renee Good, prompting calls to end or scale back operations.
Other outlets and federal statements stressed officer safety and portrayed the operations as responses to dangerous conditions, with Anadolu Ajansı quoting President Trump defending aggressive tactics as necessary.
Overall coverage shows the shooting has intensified tensions between federal agents and local leaders and prompted calls for independent scrutiny and policy debate.