Family members have identified the man who was shot dead by federal immigration agents in the city of Minneapolis in the United States as Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old American citizen.  

The shooting of Pretti on Saturday came as Minneapolis, the largest city in the state of Minnesota, continues to mourn the death of another US citizen, Renee Good, who was killed earlier this month when another federal agent fired into her vehicle.

The Department of Homeland Security characterised the incident on Saturday as an attack, saying a Border Patrol agent fired in self-defence after a man approached with a handgun and violently resisted attempts to disarm him.

Witnesses and Pretti’s family reject that claim, however, while bystander videos from the scene also appear to contradict the account.

Here’s what we know about Pretti and the circumstances of his death.

What happened in Minneapolis?

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told reporters Pretti had attacked agents during the shooting, while federal officials posted an image of the gun they say the victim was carrying at the time of the shooting.

“He wasn’t there to ‌peacefully protest. He was there to perpetuate violence,” Noem said at a news conference.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) commander, Gregory Bovino, said Pretti wanted to do “maximum damage and massacre law enforcement”, while Trump’s deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, described the victim as “a would-be assassin”.

Bystander videos verified by the Reuters news agency showed Pretti, holding a mobile phone in his hand, not a gun, as he ⁠tries to help other protesters who have been pushed to the ground by the federal agents.

As the videos begin, Pretti can be seen filming as a federal agent pushes away one woman and shoves another ​to the ground. Pretti moves between the agent and the women, then raises his left arm to shield himself as the agent pepper-sprays him.

Several agents then take ‍hold of Pretti – who struggles with them – and force him onto his hands and knees. As the agents pin down Pretti, someone shouts what sounds like a warning about the presence of a gun. Video footage then appears to show one of the agents removing a gun from Pretti and stepping away from the group with it.

Moments later, an officer points his handgun at Pretti’s back and fires four shots at him in quick succession. Several more shots ‍are then heard as another agent also appears to fire at Pretti.

The agents initially all back away from Pretti’s body on the road. Some agents then seem to offer medical assistance to Pretti as he lies on the ground, as other agents keep bystanders back.

Meanwhile, two witnesses who immediately filed sworn statements before the US District Court of Minnesota said Pretti did not brandish a gun during the incident. According to the court documents, one of the witnesses, a doctor, said Pretti sustained at least three gunshot wounds in his back.

Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara later said Pretti was a lawful gun owner with no criminal record other than traffic violations.

Who was Alex Pretti?

Family members described Pretti as a compassionate and dedicated healthcare worker who had been angered by the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

Pretti was working as an intensive care nurse at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Minneapolis at the time of his death.

“We are heartbroken, but also very angry. Alex was a kind soul who cared deeply for his family and friends, and also the American veterans who he cared for as an ICU nurse,” his parents, Michael and Susan Pretti, said in a statement released to the media.

Michael Pretti told The Associated Press news agency that his son “was very upset with what was happening in Minneapolis and throughout the United States” with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and had taken part in the protests against the immigration raids.

“He thought it was terrible, you know, kidnapping children, just grabbing people off the street. He cared about those people, and he knew it was wrong, so he did participate in protests,” the elder Pretti said.

” alt=”” aria-hidden=”true” />

The family told the AP that Pretti studied at the University of Minnesota, graduating in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in biology, society and the environment. They said he worked as a research scientist before returning to school to become a registered nurse.

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.

In their statement, the family lambasted the Trump administration’s claim that their son had attacked the officers who shot him. “The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting,” they said.

The family added that videos showed Pretti was not holding a gun when federal agents tackled him, but holding his phone with one hand and using the other to shield a woman who was being pepper-sprayed.

“Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man,” they said.

Meanwhile, the federal employees’ labour union AFGE said it was “deeply stricken by this tragedy” while its president, Everett Kelley, paid tribute to Pretti, saying he “dedicated his life to serving American veterans”.

The American Nurses Association also said it was “deeply disturbed and saddened” by the killing, and called for a “full, unencumbered investigation” into the case. Pretti’s colleague, Dr Dmitri Drekonja, told ABC News that it was “galling and enraging” to hear the way federal officials were portraying the victim.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz condemned Pretti’s killing as part of a “campaign of organised brutality”, while Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey urged the Trump administration to end its immigration crackdown there.

What’s driving the tensions in Minneapolis?

Trump, a Republican, launched the immigration crackdowns last year, targeting Democrat-led states and cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, saying the militarised operations were necessary to remove criminals from the US.

The crackdown in Minneapolis is the largest federal immigration enforcement operation ever carried out, according to officials, with some 3,000 agents deployed. The operation began in November, with officials tying it in part to allegations of fraud involving residents of Somali origin.

The surge has pitted city and state officials against the federal government, prompted daily clashes between activists and immigration officers and now, the deaths of several US citizens. Amid the tensions, children are skipping school or learning remotely, families are avoiding religious services and many businesses, especially in immigrant neighbourhoods, have closed temporarily, according to media reports.

Pretti is at least the sixth person to die during ICE enforcement efforts nationwide since last year, the AP reported, and the incident was one of at least five shootings in January involving federal agents conducting anti-immigration operations, according to Reuters.

At least six people have also died in ICE detention centres since the start of 2026, Reuters reported, following at least 30 deaths in its custody last year, a two-decade high.