Parents, who live in Colorado, confirmed man’s identity

MINNEAPOLIS — Federal immigration officers shot and killed a man Saturday in Minneapolis.

Federal authorities said the man carried a gun and resisted being disarmed.

Family members identified the man as Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse who had protested the crackdown on illegal immigration in the city. After the shooting, protesters clashed with federal immigration officers.

The Minnesota National Guard assisted local police at the direction of Gov. Tim Walz, officials said. Guard troops were sent to both the shooting site and to a federal building, where officials have squared off with protesters daily.

Information about what led up to the shooting was limited, according to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said.

Pretti’s parents live in Arvada, Colorado.

“He cared about people deeply and he was very upset with what was happening in Minneapolis and throughout the United States with ICE, as millions of other people are upset,” said Michael Pretti, Alex’s father, who confirmed his son participated in protests.

“We had this discussion with him two weeks ago or so, you know, that go ahead and protest, but do not engage, do not do anything stupid, basically,” Michael Pretti said. “And he said he knows that. He knew that.”

Pretti was born in Illinois. His family said he had never had any interactions with law enforcement beyond a handful of traffic tickets.

Michael Pretti is listed as a senior manager at a civil engineering firm on his LinkedIn page. The mother, Susan Skocir Pretti, may also work at the company. Michael and Susan Pretti, as well as officials at the company, did not respond to requests for comment from the Denver Gazette on Saturday evening.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said that the man was shot after he “approached” Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun. Officials did not specify if Pretti brandished the gun.

In a statement on X, DHS said that federal officers were conducting an operation targeting an “illegal alien wanted for violent assault” when an individual “approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun.”

“The officers attempted to disarm the suspect but the armed suspect violently resisted,” DHS said, adding that, “fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, an agent fired defensive shots.”

The officer who shot the man is an eight-year Border Patrol veteran, federal officials said.

DHS said the suspect also carried two magazines and no ID, speculating that “this looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”

Medics attended to the man but were unable to revive him. He was pronounced dead at the scene, federal authorities said.

O’Hara, the Minneapolis police chief, said local authorities believe the man was a “lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.”

Weighing in on social media, President Donald Trump criticized Minnesota’s governor and the Minneapolis mayor.

Trump shared images of the gun that immigration officials said was recovered and said: “What is that all about? Where are the local Police? Why weren’t they allowed to protect ICE Officers?”

Videos show officers, man who was shot

Several videos showed different angles of the incident leading up to the shooting.

In the videos, protesters can be heard blowing whistles and shouting profanities at agents on Nicollet Avenue.

One video shows an officer pushing a person who is wearing a brown jacket, skirt and black tights and carrying a water bottle. That person reaches out for a man and the two link up. The man, wearing a brown jacket and black hat, seems to be holding his phone up toward the officer.

The same officer pushes a third person, who is wearing a light-colored jacket. The person falls to the ground. The man in the brown jacket appears to put himself between the officer and the third person. The officer sprays the man.

Soon, at least seven officers surround the man. One officer, who appears to have a canister in his hand, strikes the man’s chest. Several officers try to bring the man’s arms behind his back, as he appears to resist. As they pull his arms, his face is briefly visible on camera. The officer with the canister strikes the man near his head a few times.

A shot rings out, but with officers surrounding the man, it’s not clear from where the shot came. Multiple officers back off of the man after the shot. More shots are heard. Officers back away and the man lies motionless on the street.

The city’s police chief appealed for calm from everybody.

“Our demand today is for those federal agencies that are operating in our city to do so with the same discipline, humanity and integrity that effective law enforcement in this country demands,” the chief said. “We urge everyone to remain peaceful.”

Customs and Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino said the officer who shot the man had extensive training as a range safety officer and in using less-lethal force.

“This is only the latest attack on law enforcement. Across the country, the men and women of DHS have been attacked, shot at,” he said.

Protests continue in Minneapolis

The shooting happened amid widespread daily protests in the Twin Cities since the Jan. 7 shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good.

After the shooting, a crowd gathered and screamed profanities at federal officers, calling them “cowards” and telling them to go home. Agents elsewhere pushed a yelling protester into a car. Protesters dragged garbage dumpsters from alleyways to block the streets, and people who gathered chanted, “ICE out now,” referring to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“They’re killing my neighbors!” said Minneapolis resident Josh Koskie.

Federal officers wielded batons and deployed flash bangs on the crowd.

Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz said he had been in contact with the White House after the shooting. He urged President Donald Trump to end what the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest-ever immigration enforcement operation.

The shooting happened a day after thousands of demonstrators protesting the crackdown on immigrants crowded the city’s streets, calling for federal law enforcement to leave.

Alex Pretti’s family struggles for information about what happened

The Pretti family first learned of the shooting when they were called by an Associated Press reporter. They watched the video and said the man killed appeared to be their son. They then tried reaching out to officials in Minnesota.

“I can’t get any information from anybody,” Michael Pretti said Saturday. “The police, they said call Border Patrol, Border Patrol’s closed, the hospitals won’t answer any questions.”

Eventually, the family called the Hennepin County Medical Examiner, who they said confirmed had a body matching the name and description of their son.

As of Saturday evening, the family said they had still not heard from anyone at a federal law enforcement agency about their son’s death.

Alex Pretti grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he played football, baseball and ran track for Preble High School. He was a Boy Scout and sang in the Green Bay Boy Choir.

After graduation, he went to the University of Minnesota, graduating in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in biology, society and the environment, according to the family. He worked as a research scientist before returning to school to become a registered nurse.

Pretti’s ex-wife, who spoke to the AP but later said she didn’t want her name used, said she was not surprised he would have been involved in protesting the crackdown on illegal immigration. She said she had not spoken to him since they divorced more than two years ago and she moved to another state.

She said he was a Democratic voter and that he had participated in the wave of street protests following the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020, not far from the couple’s neighborhood. She described him as someone who might shout at law enforcement officers at a protest, but she had never known him to be physically confrontational, she said.

She said Pretti got a permit to carry a concealed firearm about three years ago and that he owned at least one semiautomatic handgun when they separated.

The AP and Washington Examiner contributed to this article.