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TWO CBP AGENTS IDENTIFIED IN ALEX PRETTI SHOOTING  
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J. David McSwane
February 1, 2026
ProPublica
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_ The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis
protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border
Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer
Raymundo Gutierrez. _

A screenshot from a video shows the moments before Alex Pretti was
shot by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis on Jan. 24,
Screenshot by ProPublica via Facebook

 

The records viewed by ProPublica list Ochoa, 43, and Gutierrez, 35, as
the shooters during the deadly encounter last weekend that left Pretti
dead and ignited massive protests and calls for criminal
investigations.

Both men were assigned to Operation Metro Surge, an immigration
enforcement dragnet launched in December that sent scores of armed and
masked agents across the city.

CBP, which employs both men, has so far refused to release their names
and has disclosed few other facts about the deadly incident, which
came days after a different immigration agent shot and killed another
Minneapolis protester, a 37-year-old mother of three named Renee Good.

Pretti’s killing, and the subsequent secrecy surrounding the agents
involved, comes as the country confronts the consequences of President
Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown. The sweeps in
cities across the country have been marked by scenes of violence,
against immigrants and U.S. citizens, by agents allowed to hide their
identities with masks — an almost unheard of practice in law
enforcement. As a result, the public has been kept from one of the
chief ways it has to hold officers involved in such altercations
accountable: their identity.

Both Democratic and Republican
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have called for a transparent investigation into the killing of
Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse working at a
Department of Veterans Affairs hospital.

“We must have a transparent, independent investigation into the
Minnesota shooting, and those responsible—no matter their
title—must be held accountable,” Republican Sen. John Curtis of
Utah wrote on X
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The agency sent a notice to some members of Congress on Tuesday
acknowledging that two agents fired Glock pistols during the
altercation that left Pretti dead. That notice does not include the
agents’ names. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland
Security, which oversees CBP, said the agents had been placed on leave
after the Jan. 24 shooting. And after a week of protests and calls
from lawmakers for a review, the Justice Department said Friday that
its Civil Rights Division is investigating the shooting. A DOJ
spokesperson did not answer questions, including whether DHS has
shared materials, such as body-camera footage, with its investigators.

Ochoa is a Border Patrol agent who joined CBP in 2018. Gutierrez
joined in 2014 and works for CBP’s Office of Field Operations. He is
assigned to a special response team, which conducts high-risk
operations like those of police SWAT units. Records show both men are
from South Texas.

In the aftermath of the shooting, Gregory Bovino, who has orchestrated
high-intensity immigration sweeps and arrests in a string of
Democratic-led cities since early 2025, was removed from his role as
Border Patrol commander at large and reassigned to his former post in
El Centro, California.

A spokesperson for DHS declined to answer questions about the two
agents and referred ProPublica to the FBI. The FBI declined to
comment. ProPublica made several attempts to call Ochoa and Gutierrez
but neither answered.

Ochoa, who goes by Jesse, graduated from the University of Texas-Pan
American with a degree in criminal justice, according to his ex-wife,
Angelica Ochoa. A longtime resident of the Rio Grande Valley, Ochoa
had for years dreamed of working for the Border Patrol and finally
landed a job there, she said. By the time the couple split in 2021, he
had become a gun enthusiast with about 25 rifles, pistols and
shotguns, Angelica Ochoa said.

DHS’ disclosure to Congress was drawn from an internal review of the
agents’ body-camera footage, which has not been released to the
public. State investigators, meanwhile, have accused their federal
counterparts of blocking them from investigating the shooting.

“We don’t have any information on the shooters,” a Minneapolis
city spokesperson said. A spokesperson for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz
said Tuesday that his office also had “not been given the names, and
we don’t have any new information on the investigation.”

Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee, in a letter to Attorney
General Pam Bondi Monday
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accused the Justice Department of covering up evidence in both
Pretti’s and Good’s killings.

“DOJ has also blocked prosecutors and agents from cooperating with
state law enforcement officials and prevented state officials from
accessing evidence,” the letter said.

Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary
Committee, told CNN on Sunday that immigration agents should not be
masked.

“They should not be anonymous. They should be identifiable. And they
have to have rules of engagement that don’t allow them to terrorize
and intimidate, harass and assault U.S. citizens and other people,”
he said.

The notice to Congress said that the shooting happened when Pretti
resisted arrest after officers were unable to get him and a female
protester out of the street.

The CBP officer “attempted to move the woman and Pretti out of the
roadway. The woman and Pretti did not move,” the report reads.
“CBP personnel attempted to take Pretti into custody. Pretti
resisted CBP personnel’s efforts and a struggle ensued.”

According to the report, one agent then yelled “He’s got a gun!”
multiple times, and two others “discharged” their Glock pistols.

In videos widely shared online, Pretti can be seen holding up a phone,
documenting the movements of federal agents and officers as they
roamed the streets of a popular food and arts district. According to
news reports, Pretti was concerned about the increasingly volatile
siege of the city by federal agents.

In the videos, a masked agent appears to knock a woman to the ground.
Pretti comes to her aid, getting between them, at which point the
officer deploys pepper spray at his face. Two agents then grab Pretti
and pull him to the ground, while more federal personnel pile on.
During the struggle, the agents unleash a series of shots —
approximately 10 — as onlookers scream.

Pretti was armed at the time of the encounter with a legally owned
handgun, according to state and federal officials. Some analyses of
bystander video appear to show a federal agent taking Pretti’s gun
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from his hip before the first shots were fired. The agents’ masks
and the chaos of the altercation make it difficult to differentiate
one from another.

Those videos appear to contradict the claims by Bovino and other
officials, including DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, that Pretti had come
to attack agents.

“The agents attempted to disarm the individual, but he violently
resisted,” Bovino said in a Jan. 25 news conference. “Fearing for
his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, a Border Patrol
agent fired defensive shots.”

In the initial aftermath, Stephen Miller, a top Trump aide and a
leading force behind the immigration enforcement operations, called
Pretti “a would-be assassin.” But Miller changed tack later in the
week when he said in a statement
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that CBP officers “may not have been following” protocol related
to confronting bystanders.

Additional video has surfaced showing Pretti in another altercation
with federal agents 11 days before he was killed. The video shows
Pretti yelling at the agents, who get in an SUV and start to drive
away. Pretti then kicks out the taillight of the vehicle and the
agents, who wore protective masks, jump out and tackle him to the
ground. 

It is unclear if any of the same agents were involved in both
incidents.

Lauren Bonds, executive director of the National Police Accountability
Project, said that many local and state police departments are “much
more transparent” than CBP when officers shoot people. “More and
more police departments are choosing to release bodycam footage or
dashcam footage within a couple of days.”

Gil Kerlikowske, a former CBP commissioner, told ProPublica that
it’s difficult to draw conclusions from the chaos in bystander
videos. Still, he said, the shooting might have been prevented.
Pretti’s attempt to help the woman knocked to the ground could have
been seen as interfering with federal law enforcement, he said. But
the decision by the officers to immediately use pepper spray created a
chaotic scene that likely contributed to Pretti’s death.

“The other agent could have said ‘don’t interfere’ or ‘stand
back,’” Kerlikowske said. “Rather than move immediately to
pepper spray, you can arrest the person.” It’s part of a pattern,
he said, of federal officers jumping straight to use of force
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in situations that could have been de-escalated but instead create
danger for both agents and their targets.

Pretti’s death, and the federal government’s characterization of
the event, sparked immediate protests, spurring thousands of people to
go out into frigid conditions in Minneapolis and other American
cities. The shooting has also drawn intense criticism from political
leaders, including Walz, who has promised his state’s law
enforcement will conduct its own criminal investigation.

_J. David McSwaine_
[[link removed]]_ is an
investigative reporter and author with 20 years of experience in
holding powerful figures to account while exposing corruption and
injustice. I joined ProPublica in 2019 and became one of the lead
reporters on COVID-19, focused on federal failures and rampant fraud.
That reporting culminated in the 2022 book “Pandemic, Inc.” I’m
following the Trump administration’s effect on average Americans in
the context of civil rights protections. This intersects with many
federal agencies that oversee issues including the environment, health
care, business, housing and more. __Facebook._
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_ProPublica is an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces
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* Alex Pretti
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* US Border Patrol
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* Customs and Border Protection
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* Minneapolis
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* Minnesota
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