37-year-old Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse, became the second person who tragically lost their life to shooting by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. Pretti’s killing came less then a month after Renee Nicole Good was shot three times while attempting to flee with her vehicle.
US officials took the same stand regarding the tragic incidents, claiming the agents acted in self-defence both times despite footage of the scene showing otherwise.
Why are ICE agents even in Minneapolis to begin with?
Thousands of ICE agents were sent to Minneapolis starting on 5 January, in what the Department of Homeland Security described as the “largest DHS operation ever” in the state of Minnesota. Officials said the purpose of the deployment was to apprehend “fraudsters, murderers, rapists, and gang members.” It has involved hundreds of arrests tied to immigration violations.
The presence of the agents has been criticized by many, including Jacob Frey, the mayor of Minneapolis and a former civil rights attorney.
In a press conference shortly after Renee’s death, Frey demanded that ICE ‘get the f**k out of Minneapolis’, adding: “They are not here to cause safety in this city. What they are doing is not to provide safety in America. What they are doing is causing chaos and distrust.”
As of the killing of Pretti, US officials, including Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, claimed he carried a firearm and ‘wanted to do maximum damage’ and ‘massacre law enforcement.’ President Trump shared a photo of the alleged firearm Pretti had at the time of his death, though many publications wrote he was disarmed by agents and had no gun when his life was cut short.
Footage shared since the tragic incident shows Alex Pretti trying to help two women, holding only his phone, with no firearm in sight.
Pretti was forced to the ground by ICE agents, pepper‑sprayed, and then shot more than ten times. An eyewitness who recorded the shocking encounter on her phone has since given a sworn affidavit describing what she saw, which is now being used as evidence in an ongoing ACLU lawsuit against the Trump administration.
“I decided to check it out on my way to work. I’ve been involved in observing in my community because it is so important to document what ICE is doing to my neighbours,” the woman, whose identity has not been revealed, said.
“It didn’t look like he was trying to resist, just trying to help the woman up. I didn’t see him with a gun. They threw him to the ground.”
Two different video angles clearly showing that ICE had already disarmed Alex Pretti when they shot him. pic.twitter.com/9VxfY1of3z
— Project Liberal (@ProjectLiberal) January 24, 2026
“Four or five agents had him on the ground and they just started shooting him. They shot him so many times. I don’t know why they shot him. He was only helping. I was five feet from him and they just shot him.”
“Then he started pepper spraying all three of them directly in the face and all over,” she added. “The man with the phone put his hands above his head and the agent sprayed him again and pushed him.
“The agents pulled the man on the ground. I didn’t see him touch any of them – he wasn’t even turned toward them.”
Another eyewitness of Pretti’s killing said, “The man did not approach the agents with a gun. He approached them with a camera. He was just trying to help a woman get up and they took him to the ground.
“I am disgusted and gutted at how they are treating my neighbours and my state.”
Pretti’s family said they were sick of the lies displayed about their son who was described as an agitator by Trump’s administration.
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