By Euronews with AP
Published on
Democrats and protesters are demanding that federal immigration officers leave Minnesota after a US Border Patrol agent fatally shot a man in Minneapolis, the second such shooting of a US citizen in the city in the last three weeks.
The man who was killed has been identified as Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse.
After the shooting, hundreds of people took to the streets to protest against the presence of federal immigration agents in their state, clashing with federal officers who wielded batons and deployed flash bangs.
During a press conference alongside Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and other lawmakers following the shooting, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar said: “Right now, we are focused on getting ICE out of this state and of course we will use every lever that we have. But I do remind people that Donald Trump runs the White House and sadly, to date we have not seen the Republican members of Congress standing up. He also seems to run the Congress.” Klobuchar also called on Republicans to stand with them.
Mayor Frey said the city is filing a declaration to encourage a judge to rule on a temporary restraining order that would “grant us immediate relief and help stop this operation that has been so harmful to the city.”
In a statement of its own, the Department of Homeland Security said a man approached Border Patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun and resisted attempts to disarm him during an operation. The statement claimed that agents fired “defensive shots”.
But in bystander videos of the shooting that emerged soon after, Pretti is seen with a phone in his hand with no clear sign of him wielding a weapon.
Just a few weeks earlier, a 37-year-old woman and mother of three, Renee Good, was fatally shot by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer while she was behind the wheel of her car, sparking public outrage and protests.
Trump accuses Democrats of ‘insurrection’
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump lashed out at Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and the Minneapolis mayor on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Trump posted images of the gun that immigration officials said was recovered, commenting: “What is that all about? Where are the local police? Why weren’t they allowed to protect ICE officers?”
Trump also said the Democratic governor and mayor are “inciting insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous and arrogant rhetoric.”
Walz said the state would lead the investigation into the shooting, saying he has no confidence in federal officials.
But federal officers blocked Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension from the scene even after it obtained a signed judicial warrant, its superintendent Drew Evans said.
Who was Alex Pretti?
Family members said Pretti was an ICU nurse at a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital who cared deeply about others and was upset by President Donald Trump’s actions on immigration in the city. According to the family, Pretti had attended protests after the recent killing of Renee Good by another ICE officer on 7 January.
Alex’s father, Michael Pretti, said: “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.”
Court records show he had no criminal record, and his family said he had never had any dealings with law enforcement apart from a handful of traffic tickets.
According to family members, Pretti possessed a handgun and had a licence to carry a concealed firearm in Minnesota. However, they said they had never known him to carry it.
Video editor • Lucy Davalou