On January 24, 2026, Alex Jeffrey Pretti,[3] a 37-year-old American intensive care nurse for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, was shot multiple times and killed by United States Customs and Border Protection agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The incident occurred amid widespread protests against Operation Metro Surge, especially following the killing of Renée Good on January 7 by a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.
Pretti was filming law enforcement agents with his phone and directing traffic. At one point, he stood between an agent and a woman whom the agent had pushed to the ground, putting his arm around the woman.[4] He was then pepper-sprayed and wrestled to the ground by several federal agents, with around six surrounding him when he was shot and killed.[5][6][7] Bystander video verified and reviewed by Reuters, the BBC, The Wall Street Journal, and the Associated Press (AP) appears to show an agent removing a gun and moving away from Pretti roughly one second before another agent fires at him.[8][9][10][11] AP reported that a voice can be heard saying “gun, gun” right before the first shot.[12]
Pretti was legally licensed to carry a handgun.[13] In reviewing video evidence, Reuters, the BBC, The New York Times, CNN, and The Guardian all concluded that he was holding a cell phone, not a gun, in the moments before being tackled and pinned to the ground.[9][11][14][15] Agents appear to have shot at him at least ten times within five seconds, continuing after he lay motionless.[11][14][10] A civilian recounted how nearly two dozen witnesses to the shooting were taken to and detained at the federally-controlled Whipple Building for hours before being released.[16] As with the Renée Good case, state investigators were denied access to the shooting scene by the federal government.[17] Later, the county medical examiner ruled Pretti’s death a homicide.
The Trump administration initially defended the shooting, though many of its claims were contradicted by video evidence and witness testimony.[18] The shooting accelerated ongoing protests against US immigration forces locally and nationally.[19] The killing and the government’s defense provoked widespread criticism, including from Republicans, forcing Trump to attempt a course correction. This move has been viewed with skepticism by local activists, who expect continued immigration enforcement in the region.[20] Comments by Trump administration officials denouncing Pretti’s possession of a firearm were condemned by gun rights groups, such as the National Rifle Association (NRA) and Gun Owners of America (GOA), citing his rights under the Second Amendment.[21]