Federal agents appeared to remove a handgun from Alex Pretti’s waist seconds before shooting him on the streets of Minneapolis, according to multiple videos, as controversy over the killing explodes nationwide.
A Border Patrol agent, who has not been publicly identified, fatally shot Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, during protests against President Trump’s immigration crackdown.
As outrage spread over the latest slaying, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Democrats in the Senate would not back any spending package that includes money for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
That could lead to another government shutdown when the current deal expires on Jan. 30.
ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP via Getty Images
Minneapolis police officers ride an armored vehicle after releasing gas canisters at protesters near where a man was shot dead by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 24, 2026. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP via Getty Images)
“What’s happening in Minnesota is appalling — and unacceptable in any American city,” Schumer said. “Because of Republicans’ refusal to stand up to President Trump, the DHS bill is woefully inadequate to rein in the abuses of ICE.”
The protests stemmed in part from another deadly shooting in Minnesota, in which an ICE agent fatally shot a 37-year-old woman, Renee Good, in her car.
“When they’re killing two constituents in my state, and they’re taking 2-year-olds out of the arms of their mom…No, I am not voting for this funding,” Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” vowing to join Schumer in opposing the spending bill.
Some Republicans also expressed dismay at Pretti’s shooting, with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) posting, “Carrying a firearm is not a death sentence, it’s a Constitutionally protected God-given right.”
Videos of Sunday’s shooting show several agents surrounding and struggling with Pretti as he kneels on the ground. One angle shows an agent reach his hand toward Pretti’s waist. The hand then briefly disappears from view, then can be seen again holding a handgun.
Ben Hovland/Minnesota Public Radio via AP
Federal agents deploy tear gas and other munitions into a crowd of people near the intersection of 27th Street and Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis after a federal officer shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (Ben Hovland/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
Just seconds later, a shot rings out, then multiple shots are heard as the agents shoot and kill Pretti. Another video captures the agents talking later and one asks, “Where’s the gun?” as Pretti’s body lies motionless in the street. The agent seen on video earlier reaching into Pretti’s waist responds, “I got the gun.”
Pretti was licensed to carry a handgun in Minnesota, though no videos of the incident show him holding the weapon or threatening officers with it.
The Department of Homeland Security claimed Pretti was shot after approaching officers with a weapon. However, the videos show him holding only his phone.
That did not stop top Trump advisor Stephen Miller from calling Pretti a “would-be assassin” or Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem from claiming he attacked the agents. Pretti’s family was outraged by those allegations.
“The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting,” Pretti’s family said in a statement. “Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man.”
Former president Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, joined the chorus of observers who slammed the Trump administration’s statements as outright lies. Obama said Pretti’s killing should be “a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.”
“Every American should support and draw inspiration from the wave of peaceful protests in Minneapolis and other parts of the country,” the Obamas wrote. “They are a timely reminder that ultimately it’s up to each of us as citizens to speak out against injustice, protect our basic freedoms, and hold our government accountable.”
ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP via Getty Images
A local resident kneels as she cries while visiting a makeshift memorial in the area where Alex Pretti was shot dead a day earlier by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 25, 2026. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP via Getty Images)
Democrats including Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called on the Trump administration to remove federal agents from the state and allow local authorities to investigate the shooting.
“Minnesota believes in law and order. We believe in peace,” Walz posted Sunday on social media. “And we believe that Trump needs to pull his 3,000 untrained agents out of Minnesota before they kill another American in the street.”
Protesters rallied in Minnesota, New York and elsewhere over the weekend with a message to stop the immigration crackdown and the killing of Americans in the streets, chanting Pretti and Good’s names.
With News Wire Services
