By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Federal agents on Saturday morning shot and killed a 37-year-old man in Minneapolis, sparking demonstrations less than three weeks after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent fatally shot Renee Good and amid an ongoing surge in immigration enforcement action across the United States city.
Alex Jeffrey Pretti, an ICU nurse who worked at the Minneapolis VA hospital, was identified as the man killed by a Border Patrol agent.
The Department of Homeland Security however said the agent acted in self-defence after attempting to disarm Pretti, but Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has faulted the claim, saying the account was “nonsense” after reviewing videos of the shooting. “What I see with my eyes and what you’re going to see with your eyes makes that pretty hard to believe,” he said.
He called on President Donald Trump to end the crackdown in his state.
Videos from the scene show that Pretti was holding a cellphone, not a gun, when he was shot. From the video, an agent can be seen emerging from the scuffle with a gun and turning away from the man when the first shot is fired.
Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told The Associated Press in text messages that the person had a firearm with two magazines.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara told newsmen that local police believe Pretti was a “lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.”
Meanwhile, several groups gathered on Saturday and marched in downtown Durham to protest the shooting. Groups such as The Party for Socialism and Liberation, Durham Defenders for Democracy, NC5051, Durham Youth Activist, Nuestro Barrio Liberation Cafe — began gathering at 4:30 p.m. at CCB Plaza and marched for an hour and a half.
The crowd of several dozen, chanting and marching just ahead of a predicted ice storm, called for the abolition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
In announcement of the demonstration, the groups said they are demanding “an end to ICE terror on our communities,” calling Saturday’s shooting of the 37-year-old Pretti an “execution.”
“ICE is trying to intimidate us, the regime is trying to intimidate us,” a protester, Kathryn Pollack said.
The Minnesota National Guard, which had been activated earlier by Walz, was assisting local police amid growing protests. Guard troops were going to both to the shooting site and to a federal building where officials have squared off with protesters daily.
