Minnesota raids continue as DHS report indicates two agents fired guns at Alex PrettiNEWS | 28 January 2026As federal immigration crackdowns in Minnesota continued on Tuesday, an initial report to Congress from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) obtained by various news outlets indicates that two officers fired their guns at Alex Pretti during his fatal shooting.
The report emerged as Donald Trump signals he may begin reducing the surge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agents in the state.
Obtained by CNN and CBS News, the report from Customs and Border Protection’s initial investigation into the shooting of Pretti states: “CBP [Customs and Border Protection] personnel attempted to take Pretti into custody. Pretti resisted CBP personnel’s efforts and a struggle ensued. During the struggle, a BPA [border patrol agent] yelled, ‘He’s got a gun!’ multiple times. Approximately five seconds later, a BPA discharged his CBP-issued Glock 19 and a CBPO [CBP officer] also discharged his CBP-issued Glock 47 at Pretti.”
The report does not indicate if one or both of those discharges hit Pretti, but notes that the firearm taken off of Pretti was “subsequently cleared and secured” in the border patrol agent’s car.
Notably, the report confirms video footage that saw Pretti helping a woman who had been confronted by agents.
4:03 Second federal killing in Minneapolis: how the shooting of Alex Pretti unfolded – video analysis
“CBPO was confronted by two female civilians blowing whistles. The CBPO ordered the female civilians to move out of the roadway, and the female civilians did not move. The CBPO pushed them both away and one of the females ran to a male, later identified as 37-year-old Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a US citizen. The CBPO attempted to move the woman and Pretti out of the roadway. The woman and Pretti did not move. The CBPO deployed his oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray towards both Pretti and the woman,” the report says.
Backlash against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdowns continues to grow, in part fueled by numerous videos circulating online that show federal agents displaying aggressive behavior while operating in the state, often in front of children.
In one video posted on Tuesday, agents are seen surrounding a crying woman holding a young girl as they detain her relative. Through tears, the woman pleads in Spanish, repeatedly asking: “Sir, why? Why?” As the scene unfolds, onlookers shout in protest, “What the fuck are you doing? Don’t you have any humanity?” while others cried out, “Do not shoot him! Do not shoot him!” in apparent reference to the woman’s relative.
Another video that has emerged in recent days shows armed agents throwing multiple rounds of teargas as surrounding residents shout: “This is a preschool, you stupid motherfuckers! There are kids here, you fucking idiots!”
One video posted on Tuesday shows an agent sitting in his car as he openly threatens an onlooker, saying: “I will tell you this, brother. You raise your voice, I erase your voice.”
Another encounter captured on video on Tuesday showed an ICE agent trying and failing to get into Ecuador’s consulate in Minneapolis. The video showed a consulate staffer running to the door to turn the agents away, telling them, “this is the Ecuadorian consulate. You’re not allowed to enter.” Ecuador’s minister of foreign affairs filed a protest with the US embassy in Quito, the Ecuadorian capital, demanding such incidents “not be repeated”.
Anger at the violent crackdown has grown following the killings of Pretti and Renee Good – but also in the aftermath of the detention of a five-year old Minneapolis boy.
Speaking at the Minnesota state capitol on Tuesday, school superintendents, teachers and parents voiced concerns over the impact of ICE raids on classrooms.
“These actions have changed the very fabric of our Columbia Heights schools and made every student, teacher and parent less safe,” said Peg Nelson, an elementary teacher in the district where Ramos was detained. “Students are afraid to come to school. We haven’t seen absenteeism like this since Covid.”
Echoing that sentiment, the chair of the Columbia Heights school board, Mary Granlund, said: “Today, people across Columbia Heights woke up to cars still running, doors open, empty, left in the street … This message is to remind people that this is not over. It’s still happening, and we need your help to bring our kids home and make our families and communities whole again.”
Later on Tuesday, Trump defended his administration’s actions and claimed they were carrying out a “big investigation” into Pretti’s killing.
“I want to see the investigation. I’m going to be watching over it. I want a very honorable and honest investigation. I have to see it myself,” he said.
Trump also defended the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, who is facing mounting calls from Democrats to resign or be impeached over her handling of immigration operations and the department’s response to Pretti’s and Good’s killings.
“I think she’s doing a very good job. The border is totally secure,” Trump said of Noem, adding that he would not fire her.
Noem labeled Pretti a “domestic terrorist” after his killing, without evidence to support the claim. She used similar language about Good, describing the actions of the ICE agent who fatally shot her as an appropriate response to an “act of domestic terrorism”. Good was unarmed in her car and video evidence shows she was trying to steer away from the agent before she was shot three times.
Despite opposition from Minnesota educators, parents and other residents, the Trump administration has justified its slew of violent immigration operations in the state by claiming they target “large-scale fraud schemes” as part of their purported aim of deporting undocumented immigrants involved in serious criminal activity.
Speaking to Fox News on Tuesday, Trump claimed – without evidence – that fraud in Minnesota totaled about $19bn, adding: “If they think it’s $19bn, triple it or quadruple it.”Author: Shrai Popat. Maya Yang. Source
