Border Patrol Agents Shoot and Kill Alex Pretti, a VA Nurse Filming an Arrest in Minneapolis

On the morning of January 24, 2026, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers fatally shot Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and intensive care nurse at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center, during an Operation Metro Surge action. Pretti was filming agents near a doughnut shop where officers were pursuing a different man. He was pepper-sprayed, tackled and restrained by roughly six agents; two officers then fired about ten shots in five seconds, including rounds after he lay motionless. Officials said he had a 9mm handgun; Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said he had no criminal record and held a valid carry permit.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the officers "acted according to their training" and accused Pretti of "brandishing" his weapon; administration officials called him a domestic terrorist. Bystander video reviewed by multiple news organizations showed agents restraining and striking him before the shots, and no footage has emerged showing him brandishing the firearm.

His death was the third during federal immigration operations in Minneapolis in three weeks. An FBI-led civil rights investigation was announced, and Border Patrol subsequently moved to reduce its presence in the city.