How was Alex Pretti killed?

1. The moment he died: officers shot him in public after a street confrontation

Multiple outlets report that Border Patrol agents shot and killed Pretti on a Minneapolis street during an enforcement operation on January 24, 2026, after a visible confrontation in which officers used chemical irritants and physically forced people to the ground; Pretti was later shot and pronounced dead ^{[1] [3] [2]}. Reporting identifies the shooters as federal immigration agents — Border Patrol/CBP — rather than local police or private actors ^{[6] [1]}. Accounts describe agents attempting to disarm someone and the use of pepper spray before the fatal use of a firearm, though exact sequencing and whether Pretti fired a weapon have been disputed in public accounts ^{[3] [5]}.

2. What video evidence and contemporaneous footage show (and do not show)

Published video from the scene and earlier encounters shows Pretti being pepper‑sprayed and pushed to the ground during the January 24 incident and also captures a separate encounter 11 days earlier in which footage appears to show Pretti spitting at agents, kicking a federal SUV’s taillight and being tackled by officers; those earlier clips have been publicly confirmed as depicting Pretti by family representatives and analyzed by multiple outlets ^{[2] [7] [3]}. The footage has raised questions because it does not clearly show Pretti threatening officers with a weapon in the fatal encounter, and some videos show him wearing similar clothing on both dates, complicating narratives that he immediately posed a deadly threat ^{[2] [7]}.

3. Official narrative, pushback and preliminary internal findings

Senior administration officials and Homeland Security spokespeople quickly framed the incident as agents responding to an armed threat, with DHS statements alleging an armed suspect approached agents, while political allies echoed strong language that Pretti intended to “massacre” or “inflict maximum damage” on officers ^{[4] [8]}. That framing has been contested: a preliminary internal review produced within CBP’s oversight structure and reporting reviewed by NPR reportedly contradicts elements of the administration’s initial narrative, and independent journalists, civil‑liberties groups and the Pretti family have called for transparent, independent investigations ^{[5] [4] [8]}.

4. How family, spokespeople and advocates describe Pretti and the earlier altercation

Pretti’s family, lawyers and advocates portray him as a Minneapolis resident and VA intensive‑care nurse who had participated in recent protests and who — while sometimes vocally confronting officers — was not a violent actor and did not pose a deadly threat, an account supported by relatives and by their legal representative’s statements ^{[1] [9] [2]}. Legal counsel for the family pointed to the earlier encounter — during which Pretti reportedly sustained injuries including a broken rib according to some reports — as evidence that federal agents had repeatedly escalated encounters with him and others ^{[10] [2]}.

5. Public reaction, political stakes and what remains unresolved

The killing has ignited protests across hobbyist forums to national streets and intensified debate over federal immigration enforcement tactics in cities, with calls for independent probes and bipartisan scrutiny even as administration officials press a harsh narrative defending agents’ actions ^{[11] [4] [12]}. Crucial factual points remain in dispute in public reporting: investigators and journalists continue to examine whether Pretti drew or fired a weapon in the fatal encounter, the precise sequence of force, and whether policy or command decisions shaped the escalation — matters that, according to available reporting, require further transparent investigation and corroboration beyond the publicly released video ^{[5] [3] [2]}.