MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 24, 2026 (Gephardt Daily) — Federal agents in Minneapolis were involved in another fatal shooting Saturday — an incident confirmed by both local, state and federal officials — including Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, Mayor Jacob Frey, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and members of the Trump administration.
There are conflicting of accounts of the deadly confrontation, although narratives being forwarded by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the White House appear to be at odds with multiple videos recorded at the scene and being circulated on social media.
According to MPD Chief O’Hara, the shooting happened at about 9:03 a.m. Central Standard Time (8:03 a.m. MST).
MPD officers went to the area of East 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue, on the city’s south side, “and found an adult male with multiple gunshot wounds. When they arrived, life saving aid was being rendered, and he was transported by ambulance to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he was later pronounced deceased,” O’Hara said.
The victim has since been identified by multiple sources as Alexander Jeffrey Pretti, 37, a U.S. citizen with no criminal record. Pretti, according to colleagues, worked as an intensive care unit nurse at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Minneapolis.
In response to claims by the DHS that Pretti was armed at the time of the shooting, O’Hara said he believed Pretti had a permit to carry a concealed weapon.
“Our demand today is for those federal agencies that are operating in our city to do so with the same discipline, humanity and integrity that effective law enforcement in this country demands,” O’Hara said.
“We urge everyone to remain peaceful. We recognize that there is a lot of anger and a lot of questions around what has happened, but we need people to remain peaceful in the area. We have an unlawful assembly at this time. Minneapolis Police have given multiple warnings for the crowd to disperse.
“We are asking for people to avoid the area and to leave if you are there. We have requested mutual aid from the Minnesota State Patrol and from all our local and county regional partners. We ask everyone to remain calm and to please do not destroy our own city.”
Minneapolis leaders news conference
VIDEO: Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, Mayor Jacob Frey and Emergency Management Director Rachel Sayre addressed the media. (Comments begin at 11:20)
Shortly after the shooting, Minneapolis leaders, including O’Hara, Mayor Frey, and Emergency Management Ddirector Rachel Sayre addressed the media.
While O’Hara spoke of the sequence of events known to MPD, Frey addressed the videos of the shooting posted on social media.
Mayor Frey comments
“I just saw a video of more than six masked agents pummeling one of our constituents, shooting him to death,” Frey said.
“How many more residents, how many more Americans need to die or get badly hurt for this operation to end? How many more lives need to be lost before this administration realizes that a political and partisan narrative is not as important as American values.
“How many times must local and national leaders must plead with you, Donald Trump, to end this operation and recognize that this is not creating safety in our city,” Frey said.
“We have seen these kinds of operations in other places, in other countries, but not here in America, not in a way where a great American city is being invaded by its own federal government. I’m done being told that our community members are responsible for the vitriol in our streets. I’m done being told that our local elected officials are solely responsible for turning down the temperature.
“Just yesterday, we saw 15,000 people peacefully protesting in the streets, speaking out, standing up for their neighbors, not a single broken window, not a single injury. Those peaceful protests embody the very principles that both Minneapolis and America was founded upon. Conversely, the mass militarized force and unidentified agents who are occupying our streets — that is what weakens our country. That is what erodes trust in both law enforcement and in democracy itself.”
Minneapolis Emergency Management Director Rachel Sayre speaks
“I took this job to keep us safe, because I live here and this is my community. We are doing everything we can to mitigate the impacts of this terrible situation. The city’s emergency operations center continues to be activated, as it has throughout the Surge and federal agents over the last few weeks. We are tracking impacts and coordinating the city’s response to the situation, which is having profound repercussions in our community.
“I can’t underscore enough how much Operation Metro Surge is impacting our city. Families with loved ones detained and those who are afraid to be in public, lest they become targets, need help accessing the most basic necessities like food, housing and rides to school. Businesses are shuttering, and our local economy is severely impacted, which means families are suffering just as we were rounding a corner in our recovery. Many of our Minneapolis residents, my neighbors, my friends, my community members, are ceasing participation in public life, afraid to even go to the doctor.
“In response, the city enterprise continues to utilize our entire emergency apparatus. That means staff across departments, often around the clock, are putting their regular jobs on hold in order to respond to the impacts of Metro Surge. I want everyone to know there are numerous resources available to community members right now. We have mental health help available. We have food assistance, housing and rental assistance, legal help.”
Sayre said her background is in international humanitarian response in conflict zones in Yemen, Haiti, Syria, Iraq and Ukraine.
“What I’ve seen here is there’s a powerful entity violently and intentionally terrorizing people, making them afraid to go outside, so they can’t earn a living, so that kids are forced out of school. This has a lasting generational impact. People can’t plan a single day of their lives because they don’t know who is around the corner and if their family member or neighbor is about to be taken away.”
Frey asked the people of America to support Minneapolis.
“Stand with Minneapolis. Stand up for America. Recognize that your children will ask you what side you were on. Your grandchildren will ask you what you did to prevent this from happening again, to make sure that the foundational elements of our democracy were rock solid, what did you do to protect your city, what did you do to protect your nation? This is not what America is about. A partisan issue.”
“It has to end. This is not how it has to be. So, to President Trump, this is a moment to act like the leader. Put Minneapolis, put America first in this moment. Let’s achieve peace. Let’s end this operation. And I’m telling you, our city will come back. Safety will be restored. We’re asking for you to take action now to remove these federal agents.”
Homeland Security statements
In a statement issued on X by DHS, and repeated in a press conferences by U.S. Border Patrol Commander Greg Bavino and DHS Secretary Krisiti Noem, it was alleged Pretti “approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun” and intended to “massacre law enforcement.”
A review of videos taken at the time of the shooting show Pretti was holding a cellphone during his encounter with DHS agents and had his free hand in the air. At no time is he seen holding his handgun, which was holstered and for which, it has been reported, he had a concealed-carry permit, which is legal in Minnesota.
“Officers attempted to disarm the suspect but the armed suspect violently resisted,” the DHS statement claimed. “More details on the armed struggle are forthcoming. Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, an agent fired defensive shots. Medics on scene immediately delivered medical aid to the subject but was pronounced dead at the scene. The suspect also had 2 magazines and no ID—this looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.
“About 200 rioters arrived at the scene and began to obstruct and assault law enforcement on the scene, crowd control measures were deployed for the safety of the public and law enforcement. This situation is evolving, and more information is forthcoming.”
Photo: Department of Homeland Security
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz news conference
Shortly after the shooting, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz commented on X before holding his own press conference.
Walz said he had spoken with White House officials after reports of the shooting surfaced, which would be the third in Minneapolis since ICE’s ongoing “Operation Metro Surge” started in December.
In a post on X, Walz said, “Minnesota has had it. This is sickening.”
“The President must end this operation,” Walz posted. “Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now.”
After the press conference Walz announced he was deploying the Minnesota National Guard at the request of Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt.
The Guardsmen will protect the Whipple Federal Building, allowing local law enforcement to “work in support of local law enforcement and emergency responders, providing additional resources,” Witt said in a news release.
“Their presence is meant to help create a secure environment where all Minnesotans can exercise their rights safely, including the right to peacefully protest,” she said.
President Donald Trump weighed in on the shooting, placing the blame for Saturday’s shooting death on Minnesota’s political leadership.
“The mayor and the governor are inciting Insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous and arrogant rhetoric!” Trump said.
“Instead, these sanctimonious political fools should be looking for the billions of dollars that [have] been stolen from the people of Minnesota and the United States of America,” Trump added. “Let our ICE patriots do their job!”
Gephardt Daily will update this developing story as events warrant.
