Federal and state officials clash over deadly Minneapolis shooting

Federal and state officials offered starkly different accounts Sunday of a shooting death the day before in Minneapolis, with the Trump administration and Minnesota’s governor each claiming the moral authority to respond to the incident and its aftermath. Governor Tim Walz asked the public to choose a side: “Which side do you want to be on?” he said. “The side of an all-powerful federal government that could kill, injure, menace and kidnap its citizens off the streets, or on the side of a nurse at the VA hospital who died bearing witness to such government?”

Federal Border Patrol official Greg Bovino offered a different characterization. “When someone makes the choice to come into an active law enforcement scene, interfere, obstruct, delay or assault law enforcement officer and — and they bring a weapon to do that. That is a choice that that individual made,” he told reporters.

The shooting marked the second federal officer-involved death in Minneapolis in weeks, heightening conflict between the Trump administration and Minnesota officials over the conduct of federal immigration enforcement operations in the city.

Video evidence contradicted the federal narrative within hours of Saturday’s shooting. Bystanders recorded the confrontation on a commercial street in south Minneapolis, showing Pretti holding only a phone as an immigration officer shoved a woman nearby. The officer pepper-sprayed both Pretti and the woman. Only as officers forced Pretti to the ground did they discover he was carrying a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun, which they then removed before opening fire.

The Federal Account

Federal officials offered a different version. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Pretti attacked officers. Border Patrol official Greg Bovino said Pretti wanted to “massacre law enforcement.” By Sunday, Bovino had retreated from that stance, saying he would not speculate about the shooting while awaiting the investigation.

State and Family Reject Federal Claims

Pretti’s family rejected the federal account entirely. “The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting,” the family said in a statement. “Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He has his phone in his right hand, and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down all while being pepper sprayed.”

Governor Tim Walz called the federal statements “despicable beyond all description” and pressed President Trump to pull federal officers back and pursue humane, focused, effective immigration control. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt fired back on X, claiming Walz “does not believe in law and order” and accused him of encouraging left-wing agitators.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said he had seen no evidence that Pretti brandished the pistol. Pretti was licensed to carry a concealed weapon. Gun rights groups noted that it is legal to carry firearms during protests.

A 2024 video posted to social media showed Pretti, wearing navy blue scrubs, reading a salute at the Veterans Affairs hospital where he worked for veteran Terrance Lee Randolph, who had died there. “Today we remember that freedom is not free,” Pretti said in the video. “We have to work for it, nurture it, protect it, and even sacrifice for it.”

The shooting occurred just over a mile from where an ICE officer killed 37-year-old Renee Good on January 7, sparking widespread protests across Minneapolis.

O’Hara said the federal crackdown was exhausting his department. “This is taking an enormous toll, trying to manage all this chaos on top of having to be the police department for a major city. It’s too much,” he said.

Former President Barack Obama called Pretti’s death a “heartbreaking tragedy” and warned that “many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.” Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York was among several Democratic lawmakers demanding that federal immigration authorities leave Minnesota.

State Pursues Evidence and Accountability

Federal authorities blocked the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension from the shooting scene even after state investigators obtained a signed judicial warrant to access it. Bureau officers were working at the scene Sunday morning.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit Saturday to preserve evidence collected by federal officials that state authorities had not yet been able to inspect. A federal judge issued an order blocking the Trump administration from “destroying or altering evidence” related to the shooting. A hearing was scheduled for Monday in federal court in St. Paul.

Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin dismissed the lawsuit. Claims that the federal government would destroy evidence are “a ridiculous attempt to divide the American people and distract from the fact that our law enforcement officers were attacked — and their lives were threatened,” she said.

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement official, Marcos Charles, reported that one ICE agent had permanently lost part of his finger when a protester bit it off Saturday during the demonstrations. “This kind of violence is not a coincidence,” he said. “When sanctuary politicians, activists and the media work hard to create chaos and fear instead of using their platforms to reassure their communities, this is the result.”

Community Gathers in Mourning

Sunday evening, a steady stream of people gathered at the spot where Pretti was shot. About 100 people were present, some singing, some praying, some bringing flowers or lighting candles. The temperature hovered just above zero Fahrenheit, and volunteers distributed hand warmers.

Brett Williams, 37, came from the city’s suburbs to attend the vigil. “I stand in solidarity with a brother whose life was taken too soon,” he said. “He’s standing up for immigrants. We’re all immigrants.”