Family members have identified the man shot and killed by U.S. federal agents during an immigration raid in Minneapolis as Alex Jeffrey Preti, a 37-year-old American citizen.
Preti’s shooting on Saturday comes as the city of Minneapolis continues to mourn the death of another American, Renee Goode, who was killed when another federal agent fired into her car earlier this month.
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The Department of Homeland Security on Saturday characterized the incident as an assault and said the Border Patrol agents fired in self-defense after a man approached them with a handgun and violently resisted attempts to disarm them.
However, witnesses and Preeti’s family have rejected that claim, and a video from a witness to the scene also appears to contradict this account.
Here’s what we know about Preeti and the circumstances of his death.
What happened in Minneapolis?
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told reporters that Mr. Pretti attacked staff during an immigration raid in Minneapolis, Minnesota’s largest city, while federal authorities posted images of the gun Mr. Pretti was said to be carrying at the time of the shooting.
“He wasn’t there to peacefully protest. He was there to perpetuate the violence,” Noem said at a news conference.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commander Gregory Bovino said Pretti wanted “maximum harm and carnage on law enforcement,” and Trump’s chief of staff, Stephen Miller, described the victim as a “wannabe assassin.”
But bystander video seen by Reuters showed Preti holding a cellphone instead of a gun and attempting to help other protesters who were pushed to the ground by federal agents.
As the video begins, Preti can be seen filming federal agents pushing one woman away and forcing another woman to the ground. Preeti moves between the agent and the women, raising her left arm to protect herself as the agent sprays pepper spray.
Several agents then grab Preeti and force her onto her hands and knees. As investigators were subduing Preeti, someone yelled, warning them of the presence of a gun. Video footage then shows one of the agents pulling a gun from Preeti and walking away from the group with it.
Moments later, a police officer pointed a handgun at Preti’s back and fired four shots in rapid succession. Several more gunshots are then heard, and another agent appears to also fire at Preeti.
Investigators initially backed away from Preeti’s body on the road. Some agents then offer medical aid to Pretty, who is lying on the ground, while others appear to remain on the sidelines.
However, two witnesses who immediately filed affidavits in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota said Preti did not brandish a gun during the incident. According to court documents, one of the witnesses, a doctor, said Preti suffered at least three gunshot wounds to her back.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara later said Preti was a legal gun owner and had no criminal history other than traffic violations.
Who is Alex Preti?
Her family described Preti as a caring and dedicated health care worker who was outraged by the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Preti was working as an intensive care nurse at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Minneapolis at the time of her death.
In a statement released to the media, his parents, Michael and Susan Preti, said: “We are heartbroken, but also very angry. Alex was a kind-hearted man who cared deeply for his family, friends and the American veterans he cared for as an ICU nurse.”
Michael Preti told The Associated Press that his son was “very angry about what’s going on in Minneapolis and across the country” with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and had been participating in protests against immigration raids.
“He thought it was a terrible thing to kidnap children and pick people up on the streets. He cared about those people and he knew it was wrong, so he joined the protests,” Elder Preeti said.
Her family told The Associated Press that Preeti studied at the University of Minnesota and graduated in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in biology, society and the environment. They said he worked as a research scientist and then went back to school to become a registered nurse.
As of Saturday evening, the family said they had not yet heard from anyone in federal law enforcement about their son’s death.
In a statement, the family blasted the Trump administration’s claim that their son attacked the officers who shot him. “The disgusting lies the government has told about our son are reprehensible and disgusting,” they said.
The family added that when federal agents tackled Preti, he was unarmed and was shown on video holding a cellphone in one hand and shielding a woman who was being pepper sprayed with the other.
“Please reveal the truth about our son. He was a good man,” they said.
Meanwhile, the federal employee union AFGE said it was “deeply devastated by this tragedy,” and union president Everett Kelly paid tribute to Preti, saying he “dedicated his life to serving America’s veterans.”
The American Nurses Association also said it was “deeply disturbed and saddened” by the killing and called for a “full and free investigation” into the incident. Preti’s colleague, Dr. Dmitri Drekonja, told ABC News that it was “upsetting and upsetting” to hear how federal authorities are portraying the victim.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz condemned Preti’s killing as part of a “systematic brutality campaign,” and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called on the Trump administration to end its immigration crackdown in the state.
What’s causing tension in Minneapolis?
Republican President Trump launched an immigration crackdown last year targeting Democratic-led states and cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, arguing that military operations were needed to rid the United States of criminals.
The crackdown in Minneapolis is the largest federal immigration crackdown ever, with about 3,000 agents deployed, officials said. The operation began in November and authorities have linked it in part to suspected fraud involving ethnic Somalis.
The surge has put city and state officials at odds with the federal government, sparked daily clashes between activists and immigration officials, and has now left several Americans dead. Media reports say the tensions have seen children skip school or do remote learning, families avoid religious services and many businesses, especially in immigrant areas, temporarily close.
Preti is at least the sixth person to die during ICE enforcement operations nationwide since last year, according to the Associated Press, and the incident was one of at least five shootings involving federal agents conducting anti-immigrant operations in January, according to Reuters.
At least six people have died in ICE custody since the beginning of 2026, the highest number in two decades, following at least 30 deaths in ICE custody last year, according to Reuters.
