A Minneapolis nurse has been fatally shot by a Border Patrol officer in an incident that has prompted three federal investigations while raising questions about the independence and structure of the probes. Alex Pretti, 37, an intensive care nurse, was killed over the weekend during a federal immigration enforcement operation in the city, marking the second death at the hands of federal immigration officers in Minneapolis since the Trump administration began large-scale operations there in late December.
The Trump administration has characterized Pretti as an armed instigator, but videos from the scene and local officials contradict that account. The investigation’s details, including the names of the officers involved and the specific evidence being examined, remain unclear even as tensions mount in the city over how the shooting will be investigated.
The scope and structure of the three investigations—conducted by the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection—have raised questions from use-of-force experts and former federal law enforcement officials about whether the inquiries will be independent and thorough. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, which historically has taken the lead in conducting criminal civil rights investigations into officer-involved civilian deaths, is in this case limiting its role to assisting another agency by processing physical evidence.
Multiple investigations launched with unclear authority and role
Three separate federal investigations are underway into the shooting death of Alex Pretti. The White House said Monday that the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection are all examining the incident, but the scope and authority of each probe remain undefined.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “The administration is reviewing everything with respect to the shooting, and we will let that investigation play out.”
The FBI is assisting by processing physical evidence from the scene, including Pretti’s firearm, said FBI Director Kash Patel on Fox News. But the bureau is not conducting a criminal civil rights investigation into the shooting—an unusual departure from historical practice.
Historically, the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department has investigated shootings of civilians by federal law enforcement officers. The decision to forgo that path here mirrors the handling of the earlier Minneapolis death on January 7, when an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said at that time: “There is currently no basis for a criminal civil rights investigation.”
Gil Kerlikowske, who headed Customs and Border Protection during the Obama administration, noted such investigations had been routine when deadly force was involved, “even in cases where the force may have been justified and even if the probe wouldn’t necessarily lead to prosecution.”
Kerlikowske also questioned why Homeland Security Investigations, an arm within DHS that traditionally focuses on drug smuggling and human trafficking, would lead this investigation. “This isn’t something that HSI has real expertise or does at all,” he said. “Shooting and use of force and potential criminal liability is not something that would be in their portfolio.”
Competing accounts of what happened
The Trump administration has cast Pretti, who held a permit to carry a concealed handgun, as an armed instigator. Border Patrol senior official Greg Bovino claimed Pretti intended to “massacre law enforcement.” Yet use-of-force experts who examined the available evidence reached opposite conclusions.
“There has been no evidence made public that supports a claim” that Pretti intended violence, the experts said. They also noted that bystander video “undermined federal authorities’ claim that Pretti ‘approached’ a group of lawmen with a firearm and that a Border Patrol officer opened fire ‘defensively.’”
The shooting officer is an eight-year Border Patrol veteran. Four agents at the scene were wearing body cameras, but those recordings have not been made public. Multiple bystanders recorded video on their own devices.
A significant gap remains: Pretti’s phone, which he was recording on when the shooting occurred, has vanished. DHS officials have not responded to questions about whether they possess it. Pretti’s father, Michael Pretti, said the family does not have the phone and does not know where it is.
The family also said Monday that federal law enforcement has not contacted them or provided any information about the shooting.
State authorities blocked from investigation
Minnesota state authorities have been shut out of the shooting scene despite obtaining a judicial warrant to access it.
Drew Evans, superintendent of Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which investigates police shootings, said Saturday that federal officers prevented his agency from the scene. “We will continue to investigate this case and others that we have recently been involved with,” he said. “But I would be remiss if I didn’t state that it would be difficult to obtain all of the evidence and information obtained without cooperation.”
In response, state and county officials filed a lawsuit to preserve evidence and block the Trump administration from altering or destroying materials related to the shooting. A federal judge granted an order blocking such destruction.
DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin dismissed the lawsuit, calling it “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.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said he raised the investigation concerns in a call with President Trump on Monday. Trump said afterward that he and Walz “seemed to be on a similar wavelength,” though he offered no details on the investigations. Leavitt later stated that Trump supports the probes that are underway.