- New videos show federal officers shooting Alex Jeffrey Pretti during a Minneapolis operation
- Pretti was wrestled to the ground and fired upon after an officer seized his gun
- Minnesota Governor Walz urged Trump to end the large-scale immigration enforcement operation
Newly surfaced videos have revealed disturbing angles of the chaotic moments when the federal immigration officers shot dead 37-year-old Alex Jeffrey Pretti during an immigration operation in Minneapolis, an incident that has intensified anger in the city.
The footage, viral on social media, shows the scene unfolding as protesters stood nearby. Around six federal agents can be seen forcing Pretti to the ground while people in the street blew whistles in protest.
In one three-minute video, a woman filming the incident can be heard repeatedly yelling in shock as the situation rapidly escalated.
"What the f*** is wrong with you?" she shouted as agents surrounded Pretti.
The videos show officers swarming Pretti and wrestling him to the ground. During the struggle, one immigration officer appeared to seize Pretti's gun and then fired more than a dozen shots. The gunfire prompted screams from the woman recording the scene, who could be heard shouting, "What the f*** did you do?!"
Pretti is seen lying motionless as officers backed away, some still pointing their guns at him, before slowly moving closer.
The woman repeatedly yelled, "Oh my God, Oh my God! What the f*** did you just do? Someone call the ambulance! Somebody call 911! I can't believe they just did that!"
A second video shows another angle. In this, Pretti is seen holding his phone while trying to help a woman who had been pushed to the ground by an immigration officer. The officer sprays both of them with tear gas.
A group of federal agents then pull Pretti away from the woman and push him down. He struggles on his hands and knees before an agent in a gray jacket appears to seize his gun. Seconds later, the fatal shots are heard.
Following the shooting, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that federal officers were conducting an operation as part of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown and fired "defensive shots" after a man with a handgun approached them and "violently resisted" when officers tried to disarm him. O'Hara said police believe the man was a "lawful gun owner with a permit to carry."
Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz said in a social media post that 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.
"Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now," Walz said in a post on X.
The shooting happened during widespread daily protests in the Twin Cities, which have continued since the January 7 killing of 37-year-old Renee Good. She was shot when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fired into her car. Saturday's incident occurred just over a mile from where Good was killed.
(With inputs from agencies)
