An immigration officer has shot and killed a man in Minneapolis, the second fatal shooting involving federal agents this month.
The US Department of Homeland Security said Border Patrol agents fired in defence at a 37-year-old white resident who approached them with a handgun and two magazines.
He was identified by his parents as Alex Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse born in Illinois.
Police Chief Brian O’Hara told reporters he is believed to be a US citizen.
He did not release the name of the man, who he said was a lawful gun owner with no criminal record.
Footage circulating on social media and aired on cable news stations showed people wearing masks and tactical vests wrestling with a man on a snow-covered street before shots are heard.
In the video, the man falls to the ground, and several more shots are heard.
Later, clips from the area showed immigration agents deploying tear gas on a growing crowd of onlookers.
BREAKING: The man fatally shot by a federal officer in Minneapolis was ICU nurse Alex Pretti, his parents say, according to the Associated Press news agency.
— Sky News (@SkyNews) January 24, 2026
Latest: https://t.co/oY4iGn5lcO
📺 Sky 501 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/3kbB0WHlNS
On his Truth Social media platform, President Donald Trump defended the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers involved.
He alleged without the full facts being established: “This is the gunman’s gun, loaded (with two additional full magazines!), and ready to go – What is that all about? Where are the local Police? Why weren’t they allowed to protect ICE Officers? The Mayor and the Governor called them off? It is stated that many of these Police were not allowed to do their job, that ICE had to protect themselves — Not an easy thing to do!”
Mayor Jacob Frey called for an immediate end to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations in the state.
Frey said at a news conference: “How many more residents, how many more Americans need to die or get badly hurt for this operation to end?”
The state governor and two senators also called for federal agents to leave.
US President Trump has been briefed on the shooting, a White House official told Reuters.
O’Hara said there was a “volatile scene” at the site of the shooting and asked people to avoid the area, adding: “Please do not destroy our city.”
The nearby Minneapolis Institute of Art said it had closed for the day due to safety concerns.
The shooting came one day after more than 10,000 people took to the frigid streets to protest the presence of the 3,000 federal agents who have been ordered to the state by Trump.
Residents have been angered by several incidents, including the killing of 37-year-old American woman Renee Good, plus the detentions of a US citizen taken from his home in his underwear and schoolchildren, including a five-year-old boy.
The 37-year-old Minnesota resident, who was shot by federal authorities in Minneapolis Saturday morning, was identified as Alex Pretti, who worked as an ICU nurse. CBS News Minnesota reporter Jonah Kaplan reports Pretti worked for Veteran Affairs. pic.twitter.com/YP3Ag1E7ZM
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 24, 2026
On Thursday, Vice President JD Vance visited Minneapolis to show support for immigration officers and to ask local leaders and activists to reduce tensions, saying ICE was carrying out an important mission to detain immigration violators.
