Just weeks after Renee Nicole Good’s fatal shooting at the hands of an ICE agent sparked major outrage across Minneapolis, ICE officers shot and killed another resident in the city on Saturday, January 24, 2026.
According to ABC affiliate KOCO News 5, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara reported that a 37-year-old man was killed but did not identify him. The deceased man was later identified by his parents as Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse who worked at the Minneapolis VA hospital.
Drop a ❤️ to honor Alex Pretti pic.twitter.com/wqizDeT3SW
— Protect Kamala Harris ✊ (@DisavowTrump20) January 25, 2026
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that ICE agents were conducting an operation as part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown when a man approached them while holding a handgun.
She went on to allege that the man “violently resisted” when officers attempted to disarm him and claimed that the Border Patrol officer, an eight-year veteran, had to fire “defensive shots.” However, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz dismissed the claims as “nonsense” after reviewing videos from the scene.
“What I see with my eyes and what you’re going to see with your eyes makes that pretty hard to believe,” he said, per CBS News. Chief O’Hara said cops believe Pretti was a “lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.”
Meanwhile, footage from the scene showed Pretti was holding a cellphone and not a handgun while approaching officers before he was shot dead. Other videos also showed an agent entering the scuffle empty-handed but emerging with a gun in his right hand and turning away from the man when the first shot was fired.
New leaked evidence proves that Alex Jeffrey Pretti didn’t have a gun but only a mobile phone to record ICE actions pic.twitter.com/DhaC0MesWX
— Furkan Gözükara (@FurkanGozukara) January 24, 2026
Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino said the incident unfolded when officers were pursuing an illegal immigrant who was wanted for domestic assault. He claimed that protestors, including Pretti, attempted to disrupt the operations by yelling, honking horns and sounding whistles.
“This is only the latest attack on law enforcement. Across the country, the men and women of DHS have been attacked, shot at,” he stated. Bovino also defended the ICE officer who shot Pretti saying he was an experienced agent who had extensive training as a range safety officer and in using less-lethal force.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem echoed similar statements during a press conference at FEMA headquarters later in the day. She claimed that the victim was at the venue to “perpetuate violence” and “assaulted” the federal officers.
Statement from Alex Pretti’s parents, Michael and Susan Pretti:
“We are heartbroken but also very angry. Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital. Alex… pic.twitter.com/QF46PUQqhv
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) January 25, 2026
Alex Pretti’s family released a statement condemning the “sickening lies” being told about their son. “The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting,” they said.
“Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He has his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down all while being pepper sprayed,” the family added.
“Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man,” the statement concluded. Pretti’s father, Michael, also shared that the ICU nurse “cared about people deeply, and he was very upset with what was happening in Minneapolis and throughout the United States with ICE.”
“He thought it was terrible, you know, kidnapping children, just grabbing people off the street. He cared about those people, and he knew it was wrong, so he did participate in protests,” he shared.
Similar to Renee Nicole Good, Pretti was also a US citizen with no criminal record. He was born in Illinois and attended high school in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Pretti graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2011.
