Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said during a press conference, "You ask us for peace, and we give it, and we get shot in the face on the streets coming out of a donut shop," after a U.S. Border Patrol officer shot and killed a 37-year-old man during an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis on Saturday.
The man who was killed was identified by relatives as Alex Jeffrey Pretti, an intensive care nurse who worked at a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Minneapolis. Pretti was a U.S. citizen and had no criminal record beyond traffic tickets.
Democratic leaders have criticized federal law enforcement officials in response to the shooting, while federal authorities have said the officers were carrying out their duties.
"It's a campaign of organized brutality against the people of our state. And today, that campaign claimed another life. I've seen the videos from several angles, and it's sickening…. You ask us for peace, and we give it, and we get shot in the face on the streets coming out of a donut shop," Walz said during a video clip aired Saturday on Newsmax's "The Count."
The Department of Homeland Security said Pretti approached Border Patrol officers with a 9mm semiautomatic handgun and that agents fired "defensive shots" after officers tried to disarm him and he "violently resisted."
Federal officials did not specify whether Pretti brandished the gun, and bystander videos show him holding a phone, with none showing a visible weapon.
Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey urged calm while pressing for a state-led investigation, while CBS Minnesota reported that the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said its agents were blocked from accessing the scene even after obtaining a judge-signed search warrant.
Frey has submitted a formal request to Walz for Minnesota National Guard support to reinforce local law enforcement.
CBS Minnesota reported that President Donald Trump criticized Walz and Frey on Truth Social, accusing them of "inciting insurrection."
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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