Videos quickly emerged Saturday showing the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis protester by a Border Patrol agent, with Democratic leaders in Minnesota saying the footage showed the deadly encounter was the result of untrained federal officers overreacting.
It was the second fatal shooting in Minneapolis by federal immigration authorities this month. The first, on Jan. 7, involved Renee Good. It also was captured on videos and produced a similar schism among political leaders.
On Saturday, at around 9 a.m., a Border Patrol agent shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti after a roughly 30-second scuffle. The Trump administration said shots were fired “defensively” against Pretti, who federal authorities claimed had a semiautomatic handgun and was “violently” resisting officers.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey stated he watched one of several videos, saying he saw “more than six masked agents pummeling one of our constituents, shooting him to death.” He characterized that Minneapolis is being “invaded” by the administration’s largest immigration crackdown, dubbed Operation Metro Surge.
The State Department of Homeland Security stated that Pretti approached officers with a handgun, prompting the agents to open fire after he "violently resisted" their attempts to disarm him. As the aftermath unfolds, community leaders are demanding accountability and a review of the federal enforcement protocols in place during such operations.
