A fatal shooting in Minneapolis involving federal immigration officers and a local healthcare professional has sparked a civil unrest and conflicting reports from various government authorities. The incident occurred on Saturday morning in the southern district of the city, leading to widespread demonstrations despite the extreme winter weather conditions.
Okay News reports that the victim has been identified as 37-year-old Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse and United States citizen. Hundreds of demonstrators have since gathered near Nicollet Avenue to pay tribute to the deceased while voicing their grievances over the increasing use of lethal force by federal tactical units deployed in the region.
The federal government has characterized the moments leading up to the fatality as a direct attack on law enforcement. Officials from the Department of Homeland Security alleged that the individual approached agents with a semi-automatic handgun and violently resisted arrest, forcing a Border Patrol agent to fire in self-defense. In official communications, federal spokespeople have labeled the deceased as a “domestic terrorist.”
However, this narrative has been strongly contested by Minnesota state leadership and local eyewitnesses. Governor Tim Walz has dismissed the federal account as inaccurate, citing video evidence from multiple angles that appears to show a different sequence of events. The footage reportedly depicts the nurse filming the agents with a mobile phone before being pepper-sprayed, pinned to the ground, and shot by an officer during a struggle.
The shooting marks the second high-profile fatality involving immigration agents in Minneapolis within a three-week period. Earlier this month, a resident named Renee Good was also killed during a federal enforcement action, an event that originally triggered the current wave of “observation protests.” Local officials, including the Mayor of Minneapolis, have called for the immediate withdrawal of federal forces, describing their presence as an overreach of executive power.
In response to the tragedy, the parents of the deceased have issued a statement describing their son as a compassionate professional who was motivated by a desire to witness and document government activities. Records from the Minneapolis Police Department indicate that the nurse was a lawful firearm owner with no prior criminal record, further complicating the federal characterization of his background.
The incident has resonated far beyond Minnesota, with solidarity protests reported in major cities such as New York and Chicago. While federal authorities maintain that their actions are part of a broader national security operation, members of the U.S. Senate have called for a comprehensive joint investigation to reconcile the conflicting accounts and restore public trust in the transparency of the Department of Homeland Security.
