Notes:
This post is "live" and ongoing. It will be continually updated as events regarding ICE in Minneapolis continue to unfold. To see the latest developments, go to the Updates section.
Read more about events in Minneapolis related to ICE in an HWR post entitled "Op-Ed | Trump, Vance, Noem, and Homan Tell Colossal Lies about the ICE Minneapolis Shooting Death of Renee Nicole Good".
My personal commentary appears indented, in black, in italics, throughout this review and in the Commentary section.
Today, an ICE agent shot and killed 37-year-old ICU nurse and Minneapolis, Minnesota resident Alex Jeffrey Pretti.
In the video you see four or five ICE agents wrestle a man to the ground. At one point you see one of the agents swinging his arm down, hitting the man. Shortly thereafter, you hear multiple gunshots and the man lying face down on the pavement.
Watch a video of the shooting and the aftermath of ICE agents' response to observers and protesters here.
Note the 6:20 timestamp of the video where you hear someone saying, "It's like Call of Duty. So cool, huh?" "Call of Duty" is a first-person shooter military video game series first published in 2003. As of October 2023, "Call of Duty" has sold over 500 million copies and has 100 million monthly active players.
A second video shows an ICE agent confronting the man who was shot just prior to the shooting. In that video you can see the agent press his hand against the midsection of the man as the man backs up.
During a press conference after the shooting, Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino said
During this operation [the target of whom was not the man shot and killed, but an illegal alien], an individual approached US Border Patrol agents with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun. The agents attempted to disarm the individual, but he violently resisted. Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, a board of patrol agent fired defensive shots. Medics on the scene immediately delivered medical aid to the subject, but the subject was pronounced dead at the scene. The suspect also had two loaded magazines and no accessible ID. This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.
Then about 200 rioters arrived at the scene and began to obstruct and assault law enforcement. Crowd control measures have been deployed for the safety of the public and law enforcement.
The officer [who fired the deadly shots] was highly trained and had been serving as a border patrol agent for eight years. The officer has extensive training as a range safety officer and less lethal officer.
In response to the shooting, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said:
An individual approached U.S. Border Patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun. The officers attempted to disarm this individual, but the armed suspect reacted violently. Fearing for his life and for the lives of his fellow officers around him, an agent fired defensive shots.
Donald Trump responded on Truth Social, posting a photo of the gun Pretti allegedly carried:
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! Why does Ilhan Omar have $34 Million Dollars in her account? And where are the Tens of Billions of Dollars that have been stolen from the once Great State of Minnesota? We are there because of massive Monetary Fraud, with Billions of Dollars missing, and Illegal Criminals that were allowed to infiltrate the State through the Democrats' Open Border Policy. We want the money back, and we want it back, NOW. Those Fraudsters who stole the money are going to jail, where they belong! This is no different than a really big Bank Robbery. Much of what you're witnessing is a COVER UP for this Theft and Fraud. The Mayor and the Governor are inciting Insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous, and arrogant rhetoric! Instead, these sanctimonious political fools should be looking for the Billions of Dollars that has been stolen from the people of Minnesota, and the United States of America. LET OUR ICE PATRIOTS DO THEIR JOB! 12,000 Illegal Alien Criminals, many of them violent, have been arrested and taken out of Minnesota. If they were still there, you would see something far worse than you are witnessing today!
Follow all of the aftermath and live updates on the CNN website here.
Schumer: Democrats will block funding package if it includes homeland security money | The Guardian
Feb 16, 2026 Update
FBI not sharing evidence in Pretti shooting, Minnesota authorities say | The Hill
Feb 12, 2026 Update
Trump border czar Tom Homan announces Minnesota immigration surge is ending | NPR
Feb 5, 2026 Update
Frey on Homan's Minneapolis drawdown plan: 'It's not enough' | The Hill
Feb 1, 2026 Update
Two CBP Agents Identified in Alex Pretti Shooting | ProPublica
Jan 30, 2026 Update
Border czar plans for eventual drawdown of immigration agents in Minnesota | CNN
Trump: Pretti 'stock has gone way down' after new video | The Hill
Jan 29, 2026 Update
Frey doubles down on Minneapolis sanctuary city policy | The Hill
DHS fight is a long time in the making: 5 takeaways from Minneapolis | The Hill
Homan says Trump wants to 'fix' Minnesota operations| The Hill
Jan 28, 2026 Update
Video shows Alex Pretti in scuffle with federal agents 11 days before his death | CBS News
Alex Pretti had confrontation with federal agents 11 days before fatal shooting, video shows | Fox
DHS review does not mention Pretti brandishing gun: Reports | The Hill
Trump says Minneapolis mayor 'playing with fire' | The Hill
Jan 27, 2026 Update
Trump insists shakeup in MN immigration operations isn't a 'pullback' | USA Today
Border Patrol's Bovino officially out of Minneapolis: Sources | New Nation
Send in Tom Homan! Trump ready to fix Minnesota ICE mess | The Hill
Trump offers support for embattled Noem amid ICE uproar | The Hill
Minnesota federal judge, out of 'patience,' orders ICE chief to appear in court | The Hill
Jan 26, 2026 Update
Appeals court declines to reimpose restrictions on agents at Minnesota protests | The Hill
Comer suggests Trump pull ICE out of Minnesota | The Hill
DHS says there's body cam footage of Pretti shooting | The Hill
Bovino tangles with Republicans, Democrats on X after latest Minnesota shooting | The Hill
Walz bashes Noem, Trump for 'besmirching' man shot by CBP | The Hill
Jan 25, 2026 Update
A third video shows Petti interacting with ICE agents as they push and confront another bystander. Shortly thereafter, Petti raises both his arms in the air. Petti has a small black object in his right hand which appears to be a smartphone or a small camera.
Two witnesses gave sworn testimony that Petti was not brandishing a weapon prior to his shooting. One witness was in close proximity to Petti, just behind him. The other witness saw the incident from an apartment window.
How Gregory Bovino became the face of Trump's immigration crackdown | CNN
ACLU asks court to reinstate restrictions on federal agents in Minnesota after shooting | The Hill
Democratic senators vow to block DHS funding after latest Minneapolis shooting | The Hill
Blanche blames Walz, Frey after second Minnesota shooting: 'Entirely avoidable' | The Hill
Governor Tim Walz calls aftermath of Pretti killing 'a moral debate,' peaceful protests | MS NOW
Commentary:
After watching the first video I referenced above, it appears to me that Pretti's hands (which you can see at timestamp 0:11) are clenched into fists and there is nothing in his hands, certainly nothing anywhere near the size of a 9mm handgun.
In the second video you see the Pretti holding some kind of black object in his right hand, but it's clear from the video that he's not holding a gun in either hand.
I don't know how much time elapsed or what happened between the second video and the first, but based on the two videos I referenced, it appears that no handgun or weapon was in the hands of Pretti.
The "Call of Duty" audio you hear in the first video is disturbing. Watching the video several times, I think the comment was made by either the person shooting the video or by a close bystander. I don't think it was made by an ICE agent.
For anyone to say such a thing, whether it was an agent or a bystander, and especially right after an ICE agent deadly shooting is an indication of just how sick and FUBAR some people are.
Regarding Trump's response, all I'm going to say is that it's way, WAY over the top, including the fact that he posted a photo of "the" gun.
Both Bovino and Noem said that Petti "approached" agents/officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun.
None of the three videos show Petti with a gun in his hands.
Two witnesses who gave sworn testimony said they never saw a gun in Petti's hands. One of the witnesses was standing very close to Petti during the incident.
The fact that agents supposedly found a concealed gun on his person is of no consequence in determining how agents responded because they could not have seen a concealed weapon.
Bovino, Noem, and Trump are all lying about what transpired. They are lying in an attempt to gaslight American citizens (and the world) into believing that their federal law enforcement sycophants have done nothing wrong. They are lying in order to perpuetuate violence against American citizens.
In an e-mail I received today from Marc Elias (Democracy Docket) he said:
Note that the only video evidence we have of this shooting is from bystanders. There is no body-cam footage from law enforcement. If we had it (and federal officials released it), then we would know, beyond the slightest shadow of a doubt, if Petti was brandishing a gun.
The reason agents weren't wearing body cameras is because of an executive order that Trump issued on January 20, 2025, his first day in office during his second term.
On that day Trump issued an executive order entitled "INITIAL RESCISSIONS OF HARMFUL EXECUTIVE ORDERS AND ACTIONS" which includes a long list of executive orders and presidential memorandums issued by former President Joe Biden.
On that list was Executive Order 14074 dated May 25, 2022 which, among other things, ordered the heads of Federal Law Enforcement Agencies to implement body-worn camera policies.
As noted in a January 22, 2025 article on the Brennan Center for Justice website entitled "Trump Reverses Biden Directive on Policing Reforms", in 2021 the U.S. Senate failed to pass a bipartisan package of law enforcement reforms (the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act), which most likely influenced Biden's decision to issue executive order 14074.
Fast forward almost four years and now, after Trump rescinded Biden's executive order, we have a situation where an ICE agent shot and killed a Minneapolis resident, DHS is claiming the victim approached agents with a gun, three videos show that the victim was not brandishing a weapon, two witnesses say Petti was not holding a gun, and there is no body-cam footage to corroborate DHS's claim.
But here's the thing...
Trump rescinded Biden's executive order in part because he didn't want law enforcement to be accountable during his administration. He knew full well on day one in office what he was intending to do with ICE and immigration, and he knew that body cameras would only be a deterrent to what he wanted to accomplish.
It's just another painful example of the damage Trump and his sycophants have done and continue to do to justice and the rule of law.