What are the detailed events in the ICE shootings in minneapolis?
Executive summary
Federal immigration agents shot and killed two Minneapolis residents in January 2026 during a spike of enforcement operations: Renée Good was killed Jan. 7 by an ICE officer, and Alex Pretti was fatally shot Jan. 24 in a separate encounter involving Border Patrol agents, touching off widespread protests and intense disputes over what the videos actually show and who will investigate [1] [2] [3]. Competing official narratives, bystander videos and local officials’ criticisms have left key facts contested and investigations unresolved [4] [5].
1. What the reporting records: minute-by-minute and separate incidents
Local and national outlets reconstructed two distinct lethal encounters: the Jan. 7 killing of Renée Good, which ABC and other outlets placed as a traffic-area shooting involving an ICE agent, and the Jan. 24 fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, captured from multiple bystander angles and occurring amid a protest near federal agents operating in the city [1] [2] [5]. News organizations emphasize that video timing and milliseconds between shots are central to debates over whether agents’ use of force was justified [1].
2. Victims and agents identified in reporting
Reporting identifies Renée Good, 37, as the driver shot by an ICE agent in early January and names Alex Jeffrey Pretti, 37, an ICU nurse and lawful gun owner, as the man shot by Border Patrol in the later incident; both deaths prompted immediate public identification and memorials reported by outlets including NBC, Reuters and local stations [1] [3] [6]. Media accounts also note the family-commissioned autopsy in Good’s case and that Pretti’s family and local officials dispute federal characterizations of events [7] [8].
3. Video evidence versus official accounts
Multiple outlets report that bystander videos appear to contradict initial federal statements — for Pretti, footage circulated showing agents wrestling a man and not clearly showing him drawing a weapon, while federal officials released an image of a gun they said he carried and asserted agents fired in self-defense [2] [6] [9]. The New York Times and BBC emphasize the tension between “trust your eyes” calls from victims’ advocates and the DHS assertion that the agents faced violent resistance [4] [10].
4. Investigations, jurisdiction and who leads the review
Federal authorities announced the Department of Homeland Security would lead investigations into the Jan. 24 shooting, with FBI assistance reported by some outlets, while reporting indicates the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division was not expected to open an automatic independent probe in Pretti’s case — a point critics flagged as problematic [4] [3]. Local law enforcement and state officials protested restrictions on scene access, and legal filings seeking to preserve evidence were reported in some outlets [11] [9].
5. Public reaction, protests and immediate aftermath
Both deaths provoked large protests, chants calling for ICE’s removal, memorials and clashes with federal agents, with reports of tear gas and flashbangs deployed near crowds and businesses offering shelter to demonstrators, while some federal officials described protesters as violent and accused them of attacking officers [5] [6] [12]. Local leaders including the mayor and governor publicly condemned the federal operations and urged peaceful protest even as tensions escalated [3] [10].
6. Political fallout and competing narratives
Politicians across the spectrum seized on the incidents: congressional leaders threatened to block DHS funding or demanded investigations, senior administration figures defended agents, and commentators contrasted media portrayals with law enforcement statements — all intensifying the national stakes of the Minneapolis confrontations [13] [4] [6]. Media reporting makes clear that the shootings fed an already polarized debate about immigration enforcement tactics and federal-local relations in Minneapolis [2] [5].
7. What remains uncertain and where reporting is limited
Despite copious video and rapid statements, major unanswered questions remain in the public record provided: exact sequences of force, timing and whether agents had clear legal authority at the scene are disputed; autopsy releases, full investigative reports and independent civil-rights probes were not yet publicly available in the cited reporting, and outlets note those absences while urging scrutiny [1] [4] [3]. The reporting shows clear conflict between federal assertions and local/bystander accounts, but final adjudications or complete official findings were not documented in the sources reviewed [4] [11].