The incident intensifies tensions in Minneapolis over federal immigration enforcement operations and follows a similar fatal ICE shooting on January 7, 2026, that sparked weeks of daily demonstrations.
A federal immigration officer shot and killed a man on Minneapolis’s Eat Street early Saturday, marking the second such fatal federal shooting in the city in less than three weeks.
The victim, identified as Alex Pretti, 37, was killed shortly before 9 a.m. during an immigration enforcement operation on the commercial strip known for coffee shops and restaurants ranging from New American to Vietnamese cuisine. The shooting occurred approximately 1.5 miles from the site of a January 7 ICE shooting in which an officer killed a woman—an incident that sparked weeks of daily protests.
Associated Press journalists reached the scene within minutes of the shooting. They observed dozens of protesters quickly converging on the location, many blowing whistles that activists use to alert others to the presence of federal officers. The initial crowd, which rapidly swelled into the hundreds, screamed at the agents, and the two groups soon clashed.
Over several hours, federal officers and local and state police pushed back protesters using tear gas, flash bang grenades, and pepper balls. Protesters repeatedly regrouped and retook their positions. After approximately five hours of confrontation, enforcement officers left the scene in a convoy.
In the aftermath, protesters took over the intersection adjacent to the shooting and cordoned it off with discarded police tape. Some stood on large metal dumpsters blocking traffic while others gave speeches at an impromptu memorial for Pretti. People created a circle of tree branches around the area and arranged flowers and candles in the snow.
Voices and Response
Many in the crowd carried handwritten signs demanding that Immigration and Customs Enforcement leave Minnesota immediately. “It feels like every day something crazier happens,” said Caleb Spike, a person at the scene. “What comes next? I don’t know what the solution is.”
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said at an afternoon news conference that officers and National Guard members were working to keep the area safe while supporting “lawful, peaceful demonstrations.” No traffic except for residents was allowed in a 6-by-7 block area around the scene.
A City Mobilizes
Stores, sports institutions, and cultural institutions shuttered Saturday afternoon citing safety. Some stayed open to provide protesters shelter from the subzero cold, offering water, coffee, snacks, and hand warmer packets.
The incident occurred amid a federal immigration enforcement surge and networks of thousands of Minneapolis residents who have organized to monitor and denounce the enforcement operations. Large protests had also occurred Friday afternoon in downtown Minneapolis.
By evening, a somber crowd in the hundreds kept vigil at the memorial. The mood recalled the 2020 response to the killing of George Floyd, with widespread anger and sadness, though without the widespread rioting that occurred then.