The fatal shooting of Alex Pretti during Minneapolis protests has sparked controversy after DHS said he confronted officers with a 9mm handgun and resisted arrest. Multiple videos and sworn witnesses dispute that version, saying Pretti held a phone or camera and was trying to help a woman when agents restrained him. Frame-by-frame reviews suggest an officer picked up a handgun on the scene while other agents appeared unaware; a third angle seems to show an agent leaving with the weapon before shots were fired. Calls for an independent, transparent investigation are intensifying.
Minneapolis Shooting Sparks Questions: Footage and Witnesses Dispute DHS Account of Protester’s Death
Alex Pretti appeared to have been filming a federal agent with his phone before the shooting in Minneapolis
A 37-year-old intensive care nurse, Alex Pretti, was fatally shot during protests in Minneapolis after federal immigration agents were deployed to the city. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says Pretti approached officers with a 9mm handgun and resisted, prompting an agent to fire. Multiple videos and sworn witnesses challenge that account, saying Pretti was holding a phone or camera and trying to help a woman when agents detained him.
What the footage appears to show
Several widely shared videos captured the encounter near Glam Doll Donuts on 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue. One clip filmed from inside the donut shop shows at least four masked federal agents wrestling a man to the ground before two more officers join the skirmish and strike him. Moments later, multiple gunshots are heard and the officers spring to their feet. Pretti is then seen lying motionless and was later pronounced dead at the scene.
Alex Pretti is seen confronting ICE agents on the street before the shooting in Minneapolis
Conflicting accounts and key moments
The central dispute concerns whether officers knew Pretti was armed and whether any shots were fired after his weapon had been secured. A slowed, frame-by-frame review of video appears to show an officer picking up a 9mm pistol on the ground; other agents in the immediate scuffle, however, seem unaware that the weapon has been seized. During the confusion one officer is heard asking, "Where is the gun?"
Another angle, filmed by a woman in a pink coat, shows Pretti walking into the frame with a phone, intervening to help a woman shoved into the snow, and being pepper-sprayed before agents restrain him. That video captures the whistles and shouting of the protest, the struggle on the ground, and the sudden gunfire. A third camera angle appears to show an agent leaving the scuffle while carrying a handgun before the shots are audible.
Screengrab of video appears to show an ICE agent holding a gun after a scuffle
Official statement
"An individual approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun. The officers attempted to disarm the suspect, but the armed suspect violently resisted. Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, an agent fired defensive shots,"
This is the version offered by DHS and cited by federal officials, including a social media post from President Donald Trump showing a tan pistol the administration identified as the weapon involved.
Witness testimony and family response
Witnesses who have given sworn statements say they did not see Pretti with a gun. The woman who filmed from the pavement said she saw him holding a camera or phone and attempting to help another protester. In her testimony she said, "They threw him to the ground. Four or five agents had him on the ground and they just started shooting him."
Alex Pretti was protesting against the ICE crackdown in Minneapolis to show ‘his care for others’, his family said
Pretti’s family described him as a caring, law-abiding man and an ICU nurse active in protests after an earlier disputed killing of Renee Good. In a statement they called the administration’s portrayal of their son "sickening lies," and urged for the truth to come out.
Context and fallout
The incident occurred amid a large DHS operation that deployed roughly 2,000 federal agents to Minneapolis for targeted immigration arrests, raids and investigations. The shooting comes less than three weeks after the contested killing of Renee Good, which prompted the protests and heightened tensions between residents and federal authorities.
Tensions are rising in the city of Minneapolis following a second fatal ICE shooting - Craig Lassig/EPA/Shutterstock
Outstanding questions
Key questions remain: the exact sequence of events, whether any shots were fired after the weapon was secured, who possessed the gun and when, and whether officers’ use of force complied with policy and law. Calls for a transparent, independent investigation and the release of full body-camera and cell-phone footage have intensified as residents, civil-rights groups and local leaders demand answers.
Note: This account synthesizes available eyewitness testimony and publicly released video clips. Official factual findings will depend on the outcomes of formal investigations.
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