(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Minneapolis erupted into chaos Saturday after ICE fatally shot a man, claiming that he posed a threat to officers during a targeted operation.
The casualty was identified as 37-year-old Alex Pretti. Several Democrats, including Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, quickly blamed ICE for the shooting.
BREAKING: Reports of ICE-involved shooting near Glam Doll Donuts in Minneapolis, Minnesota pic.twitter.com/fAqaAH3JyW
— Rapid Report (@RapidReport2025) January 24, 2026
According to DHS, Pretti approached federal officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun while they were conducting a targeted operation in Minneapolis.
“The officers attempted to disarm the suspect but the armed suspect violently resisted. More details on the armed struggle are forthcoming,” DHS wrote on X. “Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, an agent fired defensive shots.”
Medics on scene pronounced Pretti dead at the location.
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
DHS said Pretti had two magazines and no form of identification, calling it “a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.” DHS has not provided evidence to prove that Pretti intended to harm officers.
However, footage of the incident indicated that Pretti was disarmed before he was shot, and there is no clear evidence that he ever threatened officers.
About 200 rioters arrived at the scene, obstructing officers and assaulting law enforcement personnel, the federal agency added.
The shooting comes as ICE continues to face leftist vitriol and criticism from legacy media outlets.
Another sign of this leftist outrage appeared when some Democratic activists defended Pretti’s right to carry a weapon.
“Even if we assume the Trump admin isn’t lying about him being armed- The right says guns exist to protect us from a tyrannical government,” wrote leftist activist David Hogg. “But when masked government agents start abducting people, exercising that right somehow becomes proof you deserved to be executed?”
Even if we assume the Trump admin isn’t lying about him being armed- The right says guns exist to protect us from a tyrannical government. But when masked government agents start abducting people, exercising that right somehow becomes proof you deserved to be executed?
— David Hogg 🟧 (@davidhogg111) January 24, 2026
This story has been updated that the protestor has not been proven to have threatened ICE officers.
