Federal Immigration Agents Kill Third Person in Minneapolis in Three Weeks

Federal immigration agents shot and killed a 37-year-old Minneapolis man on Saturday, the third civilian killed by federal agents in the city in just three weeks. The killing happened during yet another ICE operation, and unlike DHS press releases, this one came with video: footage filmed by bystanders shows agents swarming the man, forcing him to the ground, beating him, and then opening fire.

The victim, Alex Pretti, was a U.S. citizen, a longtime Minneapolis resident, and—crucially—not an immigration target at all. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara confirmed the killing but offered little clarity, saying he had no information about what led up to the shooting. What he did confirm is damning enough: Pretti was a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry, and police had virtually no history with him beyond minor traffic tickets. In other words, ICE didn’t kill a “known threat.” They killed a regular Minneapolis resident.

The video tells the rest of the story. Near 26th Street West and Nicollet Avenue, multiple federal agents can be seen pinning Pretti to the pavement. One agent repeatedly strikes him with what appears to be a firearm while others hold him down. Then the gunfire starts. More than a dozen shots ring out—continuing even after Pretti’s body goes limp.

The Department of Homeland Security, predictably, rushed out a statement claiming the shooting was “defensive.” DHS alleged that Pretti approached Border Patrol agents with a 9 mm handgun and “violently resisted” disarmament, forcing an agent to fear for his life.

That story collapses on contact with reality.

Video evidence shows Pretti never reached for his gun and never drew it. In fact, an agent had already removed the weapon from his holster before the first shot was fired. By DHS’s own logic, this was no longer an “armed suspect.”

They didn’t defend themselves. They executed an unarmed man.

The killing detonated outrage across Minnesota and beyond.

Rep. Ilhan Omar called the shooting what it “appears to be: an execution by immigration enforcement,” describing it as “heartbreaking and horrifying.” She accused federal agents of “targeting our residents instead of protecting them,” said the Trump administration has turned Minnesota into a “war zone,” and demanded that ICE and CBP leave the state immediately.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar echoed the call for ICE to get out of Minnesota, saying the federal presence is making communities less safe and blasting Republicans who have “stood silent” while federal agents terrorize neighbourhoods.

Minnesota Democrats, including Rep. Betty McCollum, issued a joint condemnation of the escalating federal occupation of local communities and demanded accountability and withdrawal.

Online, the reaction was even more blunt. Leftist and anti-ICE voices called the killing exactly what it looked like: murder. Commenters pointed out that Pretti was already restrained and disarmed when agents fired. Veterans and former service members compared the agents’ behaviour to untrained, panicked escalation, the kind drilled out of professionals and seen too often in crackdowns on peaceful protesters.

Others focused on the broader pattern: ICE agents flooding neighbourhoods without coordination, harassing residents, and acting with total impunity. Calls ranged from mandatory de-escalation training to fully abolishing ICE, with slogans tying the killing directly to Trump’s immigration agenda: “Trump’s America kills.”

Protests erupted again across Minneapolis. Demonstrators described Pretti as a community member and the agents as aggressors, with residents warning that ICE is “just trying to scare people”—and that this terror campaign doesn’t stop with immigrants.

Mayor Jacob Frey and Gov. Tim Walz condemned the killing. Walz said he spoke with the White House and called the situation “sickening.” Frey again pleaded for an end to the federal operation that has dumped thousands of armed agents into Minneapolis. Again, feckless and weak leadership from members of the democratic establishment.

The federal response was tear gas, street closures, and riot-style containment—more force layered on top of an execution.

ICE didn’t make Minneapolis safer. They turned it into a killing zone.

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