Two federal immigration agents who fatally shot Alex Pretti during a tense encounter in Minneapolis, Minnesota, have been identified as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa (43) and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez (35).
37-year-old Pretti was a US citizen and an intensive care nurse who was shot and killed by federal immigration officers on January 24 amid immigration enforcement operations in the city ordered by the Trump administration.
According to ProPublica, Ochoa and Gutierrez were named in official records obtained after the incident. Ochoa joined the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Border Patrol in 2018. Gutierrez has been with CBP since 2014 and works in the Office of Field Operations, where he is part of a special response team that conducts high‑risk operations similar to police SWAT units. Both agents are reported to be from South Texas.
The report also notes that a Homeland Security Department (DHS) spokesperson declined to answer questions about Ochoa and Gutierrez, and that the FBI also did not comment when asked. Efforts to reach the two agents directly were unsuccessful, according to the news outlet.
The identification comes amid ongoing investigations into the Pretti shooting, which has already drawn national scrutiny. US Justice Department (DOJ) officials have opened a civil rights probe into the case, which is being reviewed by the FBI and the Civil Rights Division.
Video evidence and news reports indicate that Pretti was filming federal agents with his phone and trying to help a bystander before the confrontation that led to his death. Officials initially said Pretti was armed and posed a threat, but bystander footage reviewed by multiple news agencies showed that he was holding only a cellphone in the moments before he was tackled by multiple men, overpowered and shot.
His death came after another fatal shooting of Renee Good earlier in January in Minneapolis, when she was shot multiple times by an ICE agent named Jonathan Ross, reportedly in self-defence. DHS alleged that Good was trying to run over Ross. Good was a mother and a US citizen.
The shootings have sparked protests across most Blue states and raised questions about aggressive federal immigration enforcement tactics during the broader operation in Minneapolis. MAGA leaders, including White House aide Stephen Miller and vice president JD Vance have defended the federal agents in all cases. Meanwhile, Democratic leaders have urged ICE to leave to avoid more violence.
Trump has justified his decision to send troops to states like Minnesota by claiming that there is rampant criminal activity and massive fraud occurring in certain regions.
