Federal agents shot and killed a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident on Saturday, prompting renewed clashes between law enforcement officers and protesters demanding an end to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Colleagues and a senior law enforcement official identified the man who was shot as Alex Jeffrey Pretti, an intensive-care nurse.
Videos analyzed by The New York Times contradict accounts given by Homeland Security officials about the shooting. They said the man approached Border Patrol agents with a handgun and the intent to “massacre” them. Footage of the encounter shows the man holding a phone in his hand, not a gun, when agents take him to the ground and shoot him.
Federal officials posted images of a handgun they said the man was carrying. Chief Brian O’Hara of the Minneapolis police said the man was an American citizen with no criminal record, and had a valid firearms permit. Open carry is legal in Minnesota.
A colleague of Mr. Pretti, Dimitri Drekonja, said he worked in the intensive-care unit at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Minneapolis. “He was a really great colleague and a really great friend,” Mr. Drekonja said. “The default look on his face was a smile.”
In a news conference, Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis accused the Trump administration of terrorizing his city. “How many more Americans need to die or get badly hurt for this operation to end?” he asked. At least two other people have been shot there by federal agents this month, including Renee Good, 37, who was killed on Jan. 7.
Here’s what else to know:
-
Federal claims: Gregory Bovino, the official in charge of President Trump’s Border Patrol operations, said without evidence that Mr. Pretti had “wanted to do maximum damage.” Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota disputed the claim that he posed a threat. “Thank God we have video!” he told reporters. “It’s nonsense people, it’s nonsense and it’s lies.”
-
Multiple shots: Agents appear to have fired at least 10 shots within five seconds at Mr. Pretti after taking him to the ground, according to a Times analysis of social media videos. Chief O’Hara said investigators believe that at least two agents opened fired.
-
Neighbor’s account: Jeanne Winter, a neighbor of Mr. Pretti, described him as a pleasant man who would often walk his dog around their Minneapolis neighborhood, greeting people along the way. “This is not a violent person,” Ms. Winter said.
-
Street protests: Dozens of protesters at the site of the shooting blew whistles and angrily demanded that police officers arrest the federal agents. In response, law enforcement officials deployed tear gas and flash bangs to drive the crowd away.
-
Trump response: The president blamed local politicians and police officials for the shooting on social media, and accused Mr. Frey and Gov. Walz of “inciting insurrection.” Mr. Walz said Mr. Trump “must end this operation.” He added, “Minnesota has had it.”
-
Investigators blocked: Drew Evans, who heads the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said federal agents had blocked state investigators at the scene of Saturday’s shooting. Mr. Evans said his agency took the rare step of obtaining a search warrant to access the shooting scene on a public sidewalk, but have been stymied.
The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, which describes itself as an “unapologetic defender of the Second Amendment,” released a statement saying it was “deeply concerned” by the shooting and calling for an investigation by state and federal officials. It noted that many facts remained unknown.
“Every peaceable Minnesotan has the right to keep and bear arms — including while attending protests, acting as observers, or exercising their First Amendment rights,” the group’s statement said. “These rights do not disappear when someone is lawfully armed, and they must be respected and protected at all times.”
Senator Ruben Gallego, Democrat of Arizona, was among Democratic senators who said they would not vote for legislation that includes additional funding for the Department of Homeland Security.Credit...Eric Lee for The New York Times
Democratic leaders in Congress on Saturday condemned the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota hours after federal agents shot and killed a Minneapolis resident.
“Masked and lawless DHS agents have brutally killed another American citizen in Minneapolis,” Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the minority leader, said in a statement. “Donald Trump’s extremists have unleashed this carnage on the streets of America. They must all be held criminally accountable to the full extent of the law.”
President Trump accused local politicians, including Governor Tim Walz and Jacob Frey, the mayor of Minneapolis, of “inciting Insurrection.”Credit...Doug Mills/The New York Times
President Trump moved swiftly on Saturday to try to shift the blame for another shooting death in Minneapolis away from the federal agents involved in the incident, claiming instead that it was the result of inflammatory rhetoric by local officials and the victim himself.
Members of Mr. Trump’s administration also quickly labeled the man, whom Minneapolis police said was 37 years old and an American citizen, as a “domestic terrorist” and a would-be-assassin hours after the morning shooting, before all the facts were yet known or an investigation could take place.
