The agent fired defensive shots during a struggle to disarm the man, DHS said. The victim has been identified as Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse from South Minneapolis.
A federal officer fatally shot an armed person during a struggle to disarm the suspect in Minneapolis on Jan. 24, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
On Saturday morning, Border Patrol officers were attempting to arrest an illegal immigrant wanted for “violent assault” when an armed person approached them with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun.
“The officers attempted to disarm the suspect but the armed suspect violently resisted,” DHS said in a statement.
“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 armed suspect was identified by his parents as Alex Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara suggested Pretti was a “lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.”
DHS said the person had two additional magazines and no identification.
“This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement,” DHS said.
The incident comes amid anti-ICE protests in the city since protester Renee Good was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer after she appeared to hit a federal agent with her car during an immigration operation. Federal authorities maintain that the ICE agent acted in self-defense.
The shooting on Saturday prompted hundreds of protesters to flood the scene and “crowd control measures” had to be deployed, according to DHS.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz urged President Donald Trump to remove federal agents from the Twin Cities immediately.
“I just spoke with the White House after another horrific shooting by federal agents this morning,” Walz wrote in an X post on Jan. 24.
“Minnesota has had it. This is sickening. The President must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now.”
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said during a press conference on Saturday night that Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey should work with the federal government instead of allegedly choosing to “encourage the destruction of their city” and embrace “lawlessness” on their streets.
WATCH: Secretary Noem holds a press conference at FEMA headquarters. https://t.co/pjNyTR6RZt
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) January 24, 2026
Trump defended the ICE officers and accused Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey of allowing protesters to impede immigration efforts.
“The Mayor and the Governor are inciting Insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous, and arrogant rhetoric!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Saturday.
Instead, the local leaders “should be looking for the Billions of Dollars that has been stolen from the people of Minnesota, and the United States of America. LET OUR ICE PATRIOTS DO THEIR JOB!” the president added.
Trump’s post called out Minnesota for statewide fraud scandals, which included a $300 million COVID-19 fraud case that involved mostly Somali defendants.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn) joined Walz’s calls to remove federal immigration agents from Minnesota.
“Donald Trump and all your lieutenants who ordered this ICE surge: watch the horrific video of the killing today,” Sen. Klobuchar wrote in a post on X on Saturday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
By Jacki Thrapp
