Image Credentials: Image Title: Minneapolis Protesters Demand Withdrawal of Federal Agents Following Second Fatal Shooting Source: (Gemini) Date: January 2026. Attribution: This image was created using AI-generated imagery (Gemini) and does not depict a real-world scene.
By Open Chronicle News Desk
MINNEAPOLIS — Tensions in Minneapolis reached a breaking point on Sunday as hundreds of protesters defied sub-zero temperatures to demand the immediate removal of federal immigration agents from the city. The latest wave of unrest follows the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti, an intensive care unit (ICU) nurse, by a U.S. Border Patrol agent on Saturday morning.
🚨BREAKING: "Minneapolis police are now confirming that federal immigration agents did indeed shoot and kill someone down here on the south side of Minneapolis—the second person now in Minneapolis to be shot and killed by the federal government," –@JTCestkowski LIVE NOW ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/e77qPgcszh
— Status Coup News (@StatusCoup) January 24, 2026
The incident occurred near West 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue, marking the second time in less than three weeks that federal agents involved in “Operation Metro Surge” have killed a U.S. citizen in the city. Pretti, described by his family as a “kindhearted soul” and a lawful gun owner with no criminal record, was reportedly filming the federal operation on his phone when the confrontation began.
🚨 JUST IN: Federal agents are UNLEASHING crowd control munitions on leftists in Minneapolis after an armed suspect was shot and killed
Mayor Frey and Tim Walz caused this. They called for people to FIGHT BACK against Border agents, and look what happened.
THEY SHOULD RESIGN.… pic.twitter.com/ZTGvWtLjMc
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 24, 2026
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) defended the shooting, claiming that Pretti was armed with a 9mm handgun and “violently resisted” attempts to disarm him. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem labeled the encounter a response to a “violent gunman” intending to “massacre” law enforcement. However, local officials and witnesses have cast doubt on this narrative. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara noted that Pretti was a permit-holding gun owner, and bystander videos appear to show him holding only a mobile phone before being tackled and shot by agents.
“I told the White House the state must lead the investigation,” Governor Tim Walz posted on X, calling the federal account of the events “nonsense.” Walz has mobilized the Minnesota National Guard to assist local police and maintain order as clashes between protesters and federal agents intensified, with reports of agents using tear gas, flash-bang grenades, and batons to disperse crowds.
The death of Alex Pretti has reignited the fury that followed the January 7 killing of Renée Nicole Good, another 37-year-old resident shot by ICE agents. As the city becomes a “war zone” of barricades and protests, Mayor Jacob Frey and other Democratic leaders are calling for an immediate end to federal tactical operations in residential neighborhoods, citing a profound threat to public safety and civil rights.