Family disputes official account after Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti is killed by Border Patrol officer

Shooting during protests sparks backlash

Alex Jeffrey Pretti, 37, was shot and killed in Minneapolis amid protests tied to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, according to family members and reporting that cites a hospital record. Pretti worked as an intensive care nurse at a VA hospital and, relatives said, was deeply troubled by the way federal immigration enforcement was being carried out in his city.

The shooting took place in a tense environment following earlier demonstrations connected to federal actions in Minneapolis. Pretti had participated in protests after the January 7 killing of Renée Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, according to the family.

Conflicting claims over what happened

Federal officials said Pretti approached officers with a handgun. However, bystander videos described in reporting show him holding a phone, and his family strongly challenged public statements that portrayed him as a violent threat. They emphasized that the footage they saw did not show him holding a firearm at the moment he was tackled.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the man who was shot had approached officers with a handgun. The Department of Homeland Security said he was shot after he “approached” Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun, though officials did not specify whether he brandished it. Family members said Pretti owned a handgun and had a permit to carry concealed in Minnesota but said they had never known him to carry it publicly.

Family says it struggled to get information

Relatives said they learned of the shooting from a reporter and then had difficulty obtaining details from authorities. They described contacting multiple offices and eventually confirming through the local medical examiner that a body matched their son’s name and description.

The case has become a flashpoint in broader debates about immigration enforcement tactics, use of force, and transparency around federal operations. For now, the central dispute remains unresolved: whether Pretti posed a threat as officials claim, or whether the videos reflect a very different sequence of events.