A second American citizen was killed by federal forces in Minneapolis. Here’s what we know

The killing of Alex Peretti, the second US citizen killed by federal forces in Minnesota this month, has exacerbated public anger over tactics used by immigration agents in the state and united unlikely colleagues in calling for a full investigation.

Pretty’s death Saturday at the hands of federal immigration officers also prompted state and local officials to renew their calls to end President Donald Trump’s weeks-long federal operation in the state.

“How many more residents, how many more Americans, would need to die or be seriously injured for this process to end?” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said at a news conference hours after the shooting. “How many lives do we have to lose before this administration realizes that political and partisan rhetoric are not as important as American values?”

Tensions are rising in the Twin Cities weeks after Rene Judd, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, was shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. Her shooting death on January 7 sparked widespread protests in the city as immigration agents continued to fan out into neighborhoods to arrest them. The shooting happened Saturday in downtown Minneapolis, less than two miles from where Judd was killed.

In its initial statement on the shooting, the Department of Homeland Security said one of the officers, acting in self-defense, fired his weapon after an “armed struggle” with a man who “approached U.S. Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun.” The statement added that the officers tried to disarm the man, but he “resisted violently.” As with Goode’s death, eyewitness and video evidence contradicted the Trump administration’s narrative. According to bystander accounts and videos, Preeti was documenting the scene on his phone before the agents fought with him. He was not seen reaching for his licensed handgun.

DHS confirmed to PBS News that body camera footage of Preeti’s killing from multiple angles is now being reviewed by investigators. The agency did not answer questions about whether that footage — or a possible video recorded by Preeti’s cell phone — would be released publicly.

Federal officials have so far kept local and state investigators away from the investigation, despite a court order instructing agencies not to destroy evidence and bipartisan congressional calls for a full joint investigation.

By Monday, Trump posted on social media that he had a “very good call” with Democratic Gov. Tim Walz and that they “seem to be on the same wavelength” regarding immigration in Minnesota.

As full details of the shooting emerge, here’s what we know so far.

How did the shooting happen?

People take part in a demonstration a day after Alex Peretti was shot and killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis. Photography by Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said officers responded to a report received at approximately 9:03 a.m. local time Saturday about a shooting involving federal law enforcement near E. 26th Street and Nicollet Street. City officers found a 37-year-old white man with multiple gunshot wounds.

The man, later identified as Alex Jeffrey Pretty, is believed to be a “legal gun owner” and has a firearms permit, O’Hara said. He added that Preeti’s only known interactions with law enforcement were related to traffic tickets.

Videos taken by other civilians show the events leading up to Pretty’s fatal encounter with federal agents. He was first seen filming the scene on the street. Sirens sounded from nearby protesters. An officer pushes a protester carrying a red backpack to the ground and is seen spraying a chemical substance in people’s faces. Preeti, who uses one hand to protect himself from the spray and holds his phone in the other, moves to help a woman who is also affected.

More agents approach and drag Preeti back. There is a scuffle where Preeti appears to fight off the agents who pin him down and hit him repeatedly. At one point, at least one customer was heard saying Pretty had a gun. Shortly after, an officer appears to remove a gun from Pretty’s holster. One agent fired one shot before firing several more.

Who was Alex Pretty?

An undated photo of Alex Peretti, who was shot and killed by federal immigration agents as they attempted to arrest him in Minneapolis. Image courtesy of US Department of Veterans Affairs via Reuters

Susan and Michael Pretty, Alex’s parents, first learned of their son’s death from an Associated Press reporter.

The couple, who live in Colorado, issued a statement on Saturday, saying their son was a “kind-hearted soul who cared deeply about his family and friends.” The 37-year-old Minneapolis resident was working as an intensive care unit nurse at a VA hospital in the city.

“Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately, he will not be with us to see his impact,” the statement read.

Pretty was born in Illinois and grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he was a Boy Scout, played football and baseball in high school, and sang in the boys’ choir. He was also an outdoorsman and took his dog Jules, who recently died, wherever he went, his mother told the AP.

The American Nurses Association issued a statement on Saturday offering its condolences. The group called for a “full and unrestricted investigation” and to immediately share the findings with the public and Preity’s loved ones.

What the Trump administration is saying

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks about Saturday’s deadly shooting in Minneapolis during a news conference at the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Response Coordination Center in the nation’s capital. Photography by Nathan Howard/Reuters

Federal officials described Pretty as a threat in their early response to the shooting.

In DHS’s first account of the shooting, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said federal officers tried to disarm the man.

The statement said that one of the officers, fearing for his life and the lives of other officers, “fired defensive shots.”

The man was carrying two magazines and did not have identification, indicating “the situation appears to be one where the individual wants to cause as much damage and massacre law enforcement,” the release said.

The agency included a photo of the apparent weapon in its email to PBS News, in addition to posting it online.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called Prete’s actions “domestic terrorism.”

The agent involved in the shooting has eight years of experience, CBP Commander Gregory Bovino said at a news conference on Saturday. He repeated DHS’s account of the shooting, including referring to Preeti as a “suspect.”

“The victims are Border Patrol agents,” Bovino later told CNN.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, considered the chief architect of Trump’s mass deportation agenda, posted on social media that an “assassin” had tried to kill federal agents, though a bystander video circulated online that did not support this version of events.

Separate analysis of the footage by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post and CNN directly contradicts the administration’s account of the shooting.

Pretty’s parents slammed the Trump administration’s “disgusting lies” about their son, noting that Pretty was not carrying a gun when federal agents attacked him.

“He had his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand raised above his head as he attempted to protect the woman who was pushed down by ICE while pepper spraying,” the statement added.

Gun rights groups have issued statements asserting that it is legal to carry firearms during protests or while exercising their First Amendment rights. “Responsible public voices should wait for a full investigation, not make generalizations and demonize law-abiding citizens,” the National Rifle Association said in a social media post.

Trump responded to the firing in two posts on Truth Social. The president blamed Minnesota officials and local police forces for the shooting and failure to protect federal agents. In particular, he blamed the state governor and mayor for “inciting rebellion” and spreading “arrogant, dangerous and arrogant rhetoric.”

Trump then accused state officials of orchestrating a “cover-up” to defraud the government. One of the president’s posts contained the same photo of Pretty’s gun that the Department of Homeland Security shared on its social media accounts, saying it was “loaded…and ready to go.”

Trump told the Wall Street Journal on Sunday that federal immigration agents would leave the Minneapolis area “at some point,” though he did not provide a time frame. The newspaper pressed the president on whether the agent who shot Pretty did the right thing. Trump did not directly answer the question, and eventually said: “We are reviewing everything and will come out with determination.”

On Monday, Trump posted on social media that he was sending border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota. White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt told reporters at a news conference the same day that Homan would lead operations on the ground in Minneapolis.

How Minnesotans are reacting to another deadly shooting

An onlooker films a federal agent near the site where Alex Peretti was shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis. Photography by Tim Evans/Reuters

In court filings, witnesses described the moments before and after the shooting. An anonymous doctor said in a witness statement that none of the agents helped Preeti after the shooting. The statement also said that the agents would not allow the doctor to approach the body at first. Eventually, a doctor observed the doctor and allowed the person to check for a pulse—which the doctor did not feel for it—before beginning CPR. Another witness said they “did not see.” [Pretti] Reaching or carrying a gun.”

The Minnesota Department of Corrections has created a new webpage aimed at combating DHS misinformation, particularly countering false claims about its cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said Homeland Security officials “prevented” bureau agents from accessing the shooting site, as they had done weeks earlier after Goode’s death.

Hundreds of protesters flocked to the site of the shooting on Saturday, prompting city officials to urge calm as more details emerged about the deadly confrontation.

“We realize there’s a lot of anger and a lot of questions about what happened, but we need people to remain peaceful,” O’Hara said. “Please, don’t destroy our city.”

Walz repeated his call for Trump to remove federal agents from his state, saying they are “sowing chaos and violence.”

“We have witnessed deadly violence from federal agents time and time again,” he said at a news conference on Saturday.

The next day, Walz implored Americans to trust their eyes.

“You know what you saw, and then you heard the most powerful people in the world, certainly in this country — the president, the vice president, Greg Bovino, Kristi Noem — telling you what you were looking at, which was that this was a domestic terrorist, crazy, running toward law enforcement with the intent to kill massive numbers of them, and smear his name within minutes of this event occurring,” the governor said.