1 of 5 | An ICE agent shot and killed a protester in Minneapolis on Saturday after the person approached them with a gun — pictured, according to the Department of Homeland Security — and then violently resisted arrest. Photo courtesy of the Department of Homeland Security/X
Jan. 24 (UPI) — Customs and Border Protection officers shot and killed an armed protester who allegedly violently resisted an arrest in Minneapolis on Saturday.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said during a news conference that local officials have identified the man who agents wrestled to the ground as he allegedly resisted arrest before the shooting as a U.S. citizen.
Alex Pretti was a 37-year-old resident of Minneapolis with no criminal record, O’Hara said.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that CBP officers were executing a warrant for an “illegal alien” wanted for deadly assault when Pretti approached them with a handgun.
When officers tried to disarm him, he resisted, and an agent fired “defensive shots.”
Medics delivered medical aid, but Pretti was pronounced dead at the scene, department officials said.
According to O’Hara, Pretti is believed to have had a permit to legally carry a gun in Minnesota, where state law allows people to openly carry or conceal a weapon as long as they have a permit, according to the Times.
It is unclear whether Pretti legally was carrying a holstered sidearm or was brandishing it, which is illegal.
The shooting happened on the city’s south side, where federal agents have engaged with people protesting the ongoing immigration actions in the city — including with tear gas and other chemicals — CBS News and The New York Times reported.
At 9:05 AM CT, as DHS law enforcement officers were conducting a targeted operation in Minneapolis against an illegal alien wanted for violent assault, an individual approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun, seen here.
The officers attempted to… pic.twitter.com/5Y50mYONGH— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) January 24, 2026
Having seen video of ICE “pummeling one of our constituents and shooting him to death,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, during the news conference, called on President Donald Trump to “act like a leader” and end the federal operation in Minneapolis.
“How many more residents, how many more Americans need to die or get badly hurt for this operation to end?” he said.
Amid a surge of protesters as word of the man’s death spread, O’Hara said “we recognize that there is a lot of anger and a lot of questions” right now, but he urged people to remain peaceful.
Gov. Tim Walz, as well as U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, said earlier Saturday they had spoken with White House officials after reports of the shooting surfaced, which would be the third in Minneapolis since ICE’s ongoing “Operation Metro Surge” started in December.