Federal agents fatally shoot another Minneapolis resident, prompting clash with protesters

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension on Saturday afternoon said that, despite a judge's signed warrant, their agency has been denied access to the shooting scene by federal investigators.

BCA Superintendent Drew Evans updated on their efforts Saturday, saying Department of Homeland Security officers turned down the BCA.

"When our team arrived, they were blocked by federal agents," Evans said.

The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus has issued the following statement on the fatal shooting of a man who federal officials say was carrying a firearm:

"We are deeply concerned by this morning's reports that a federal law enforcement operation in Minneapolis resulted in the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by federal agents. According to local officials, the man was legally armed, a firearm was recovered at the scene, and he is believed to have been a lawful gun owner and permit to carry holder.

"Many critical facts remain unknown.

"We do not yet have an independent account of what initiated the encounter or what triggered the use of deadly force. Despite widespread speculation regarding intent, there has been no evidence produced indicating an intent to harm the officers. We are calling for a full and transparent investigation by both state and federal authorities.

"Every peaceable Minnesotan has the right to keep and bear arms—including while attending protests, acting as observers, or exercising their First Amendment rights. These rights do not disappear when someone is lawfully armed, and they must be respected and protected at all times."

Family members say the man killed by a federal officer in Minneapolis on Saturday was an intensive care nurse at the Veterans Administration who cared deeply about people and was upset by President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown in his city.

Alex Jeffrey Pretti, 37, was an avid outdoorsman who loved getting in adventures with Joule, his beloved Catahoula Leopard dog who also recently died. He had participated in protests following the killing of Renee Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Law Enforcement officer earlier this month.

"He cared about people deeply and he was very upset with what was happening in Minneapolis and throughout the United States with ICE, as millions of other people are upset," said Michael Pretti, Alex's father. "He felt that doing the protesting was a way to express that, you know, his care for others."

Pretti was a U.S. citizen, born in Illinois. Like Good, court records showed he had no criminal record and his family said he had never had any interactions with law enforcement beyond a couple of traffic tickets.

The NBA has postponed a game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors that was scheduled for Saturday afternoon in Minneapolis.

"The decision was made to prioritize the safety and security of the Minneapolis community," the league said.

The two teams will now play on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. CT at Target Center.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said he had spoken to the White House twice on Saturday, to first request that federal agents leave the state, and to then say that state officials will investigate the deadly Border Patrol shooting in South Minneapolis.

"Minnesota's justice system will have the last word on this. It must have the last word on this," Walz said. "As I told the White House in no uncertain terms, the federal government cannot be trusted to lead this investigation. The state will handle it, period."

Walz also encouraged Minnesotans to protest peacefully, saying that residents cannot meet "violence with violence."

"Despite the horrific acts by this federal government, Minnesota is standing up to this rule of law," he said.

Walz added that Republicans "will not win another election for as long as they live" unless they "stand up for what's right" and "stand up for human decency."

The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office has asked for assistance from the Minnesota National Guard "due to the potential for continuing and growing conflict" after the second killing by a federal agent in Minneapolis since the start of the year.

Sheriff Dawanna Witt has requested National Guard members to aid her deputies at the Whipple Federal Building, the local headquarters for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Protests have been a nigh constant sight outside the building since the killing of Renee Good on Jan. 7.

"Their job will be to assist the Sheriff's Office in protecting life, preserving property, and helping to ensure the safety of all community members," the sheriff's office said in a statement.  

The guard has been on standby at the direction of Gov. Tim Walz since Good's death.

"We respect and protect everyone's rights to voice concerns and stand up for what they believe in, but we urge all actions to remain peaceful and lawful," the sheriff's office said. "Our collective priority remains protecting our neighborhoods and keeping people safe."

President Trump took to Truth Social early Saturday afternoon after federal agents fatally shot a man in Minneapolis. 

In his post, Trump shared a picture of the man's gun, saying it was "ready to go." 

He also alleged local police weren't protecting ICE officers and questioned if Mayor Jacob Frey and Gov. Tim Walz "called them off."

He went on to accuse Frey and Walz of inciting an insurrection "with their pompous, dangerous, and arrogant rhetoric." 

Trump added that if the "12,000 Illegal Alien Criminals" were not arrested and taken out of the state, "you would see something far worse than you are witnessing today!"

The federal officer who shot and killed a man in Minneapolis Saturday was "highly trained and has been serving as a Border Patrol agent for eight years," the agency's Commander at Large Greg Bovino said.

Bovino did not publicly identify the officer at an afternoon news conference. He repeated a Department of Homeland Security statement issued earlier in the day before refusing to answer a WCCO question about video evidence that contradicts the DHS narrative.

Homeland Security alleged the man who was killed approached agents with a handgun, but multiple videos taken before the shooting show him without a weapon in hand before agents tackled him to the ground.

Bovino said the "situation is evolving and more information is forthcoming." He also said federal agents "need state and local law enforcement to help us coordinate to get violent criminals off the street."

Republican House Majority Whip Tom Emmer said he's "grateful no Border Patrol officers were harmed" after federal agents shot and killed a man in south Minneapolis Saturday morning.

Emmer's statement made no mention of the man killed, whom city officials have identified as a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident.

"The governor and local leaders' rhetoric has empowered criminals and put federal law enforcement's lives at risk. It's dangerous and has made the situation in Minneapolis much worse," Emmer said."Unlike my Democrat colleagues, I'm going to let law enforcement conduct their investigation and not jump to asinine conclusions. We are grateful no Border Patrol officers were harmed."  

Watch live aerial footage of protests after federal agents shot and killed another Minneapolis resident during a federal immigration crackdown. 

Minneapolis city officials identified the man killed by federal agents as a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident and U.S. citizen.

Police Chief Brian O'Hara said local authorities have been given "very limited" information about what led to the shooting. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the FBI are at the scene investigating, O'Hara said.

Mayor Jacob Frey said he has seen the video of agents "pummeling one of our constituents and shooting him to death."

"How many more residents, how many more Americans need to die or get badly hurt for this operation to end?" Frey said.

Frey called on President Trump to pull federal agents out of the city.

"To President Trump: This is a moment to act like a leader," Frey said. "Put Minneapolis, put America first in this moment. Let's achieve peace. Let's end this operation, and I'm telling you, our city will come back, safety will be restored."

Frey and O'Hara also asked the public to avoid the area of the shooting and asked anyone at the scene protesting to leave. 

"We understand your frustrations," O'Hara said. "This is not sustainable."

O'Hara said the man killed was a "lawful gun owner with a permit to carry." The Department of Homeland Security alleged the man approached officers with a gun.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz says he's communicated with the White House that the "state must lead the investigation."

"Let state investigators secure justice," Walz said. "As we process the scene, stay peaceful and give them space. The State has the personnel to keep people safe - federal agents must not obstruct our ability to do so."

Walz's office says he will address the shooting in a news conference at 1:30 p.m. You can watch that on CBS News Minnesota and WCCO's Youtube page. 

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin has released more information Saturday morning, saying the person "violently resisted" before federal agents fired fatal shots. 

McLaughlin says just after 9 a.m. DHS agents were conducting a "targeted operation in Minneapolis against an illegal alien" who she says was wanted for violent assault. That's when a person approached Border Patrol officers with a "9 mm semi-automatic handgun."

"The officers attempted to disarm the suspect but the armed suspect violently resisted. More details on the armed struggle are forthcoming," McLaughlin said. "Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, an agent fired defensive shots. Medics on scene immediately delivered medical aid to the subject but was pronounced dead at the scene."

McLaughlin added that the person had two magazines and no ID and that it "looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement."

She says more information will be provided later. 

Minneapolis officials later said the man was a "lawful gun owner with a permit to carry." The police chief says DHS has given the city very limited information about what led to the shooting. 

Video of the shooting, which WCCO has reviewed, shows several federal agents surrounding a person on the ground. It appears one of the agents hits the person with a gun several times before several gunshots are heard. 

Joy, a 55-year-old woman from Edina, Minnesota, said she had driven up to the scene where federal agents shot and killed a man Saturday morning with her husband after watching footage of the protests on TV.

Her husband was in the crowd, protesting, while she was comforting a woman who was on the verge of a panic attack.

"I just said to her, I said: 'We got this.' This is when we show our resolve as a city because we're better than this. We are under attack by this administration right now and this is not OK. It's just not," she told WCCO's Frankie McLister. 

"This is not OK for our city," she said, adding that she'd lived in the Twin Cities area for a combined 21 years. "You know, I believe that the Twin Cities represents the best of America." 

The Minnesota State Patrol has declared an "unlawful assembly" in the vicinity of a fatal shooting in south Minneapolis, as crowds continue to gather.

A rally and a vigil is planned on East 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue South Saturday afternoon, not far from where federal agents shot and killed a person.

The vigil was originally scheduled for 1 p.m., but has since been postponed. 

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty released a statement on Saturday morning following the fatal shooting by federal agents. 

Moriarty says the county is working with the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to "coordinate a state response."

"The scene must be secured by local law enforcement for the collection and preservation of evidence. We expect the federal government to allow the BCA to process the scene," Moriarty said. 

WCCO reporters Frankie McLister and Adam Duxter are on the scene along Nicollet Avenue in south Minneapolis and confirm that chemical irritant has been deployed as outraged crowds gather on the scene, some carrying signs and at least one other carrying an American flag hung upside down in the signal for extreme distress.

WCCO has reviewed apparent video of Saturday's shooting.

The video, which WCCO is working to verify, shows several federal agents scuffling with someone in the street, followed by the sound of several gunshots before the agents scatter.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Police Chief Brian O'Hara plan to speak about Saturday's killing at a news conference.

A release from the city said the mayor is "demanding that ICE leave the city and state immediately."

The news conference is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. You can watch it live on CBS News Minnesota or the WCCO YouTube page.

Minnesota officials issued statements in the immediate aftermath of another apparent shooting by federal immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis Saturday morning.

Saturday's shooting comes one day after tens of thousands of people marched through downtown Minneapolis to protest ICE's presence in the city. 

Exact numbers are not known, but organizers expected 50,000 people to attend the march, which started near U.S. Bank Stadium and ended with a rally at Target Center.

A woman attending the protest told WCCO she's a teacher who was showing up for her students.

"I'm a high school teacher. They're scared. They are scared to wait at the bus. They are scared for their friends. Children of color are scared to be out on the streets and in their cars. They've been cornered. They've been detained. They've been questioned. Their families have been detained. They're scared for their lives. They're scared for their families," the woman said.

Organizers called for a general strike on Friday, as well, urging Minnesotans to abstain from school, work and shopping to demonstrate against the federal presence in the state.