ICE observer Alex Pretti, 37, killed by ICE agent on Eat Street

An ICE agent shot and killed Lyndale resident Alex Pretti, 37, around 9 a.m. on Jan. 24 along Nicollet Avenue just south of 26th Street. Videos of the incident show the ICE agent shooting Pretti multiple times after an agent sprays him with tear gas and other agents physically assault him. According to video footage, Pretti was observing ICE agents and got closer to ICE agents when another observer was shoved by an ICE agent. 

The Minnesota BCA reported that the Department of Homeland Security blocked them from accessing the scene the morning of the shooting. The Minneapolis Police Department requested the BCA’s presence. 

Immediate reaction

After the shooting, a crowd gathered at the scene and by 10:45 a.m., federal agents began throwing tear gas into the crowd. There were multiple clashes between the crowd, federal, and state agents until shortly after 1 p.m. 

“They blasted me. I got shot with rubber bullets,” Chad Evans, an educator from Deer River, Minn. said, after a clash with state law enforcement. “They freaking hit me in the legs. They shot me with the tear cans right in the back.” 

When most law enforcement cleared the immediate area, barricades made of dumpsters and other found materials were set up by people from 25th to 27th Street along Nicollet Avenue. Minneapolis police blocked traffic along a wider perimeter. 

Evans has traveled down from Deer River a few times to protest ICE’s presence in Minnesota and its impact on children. 

“Our schools have to stand up as institutions and say, ‘This is wrong.’ We protect our kids from bullying. We protect them from discrimination. We protect them from everything, and no one is actually coming,” Evans said as he sat on a couch in the middle of Nicollet Avenue, holding an upside down American flag. “We're just gonna stand back and say, ‘Okay, you can come take kids off our parking lots.’ No, I'm done.”

The scene remained peaceful in the afternoon as tables of resources sprung up, with people offering hard warmers and water. Workers at Pimento Jamaican Kitchen and The Copper Hen were outside advertising their space for bathrooms and free drinks and food. 

Mayor Jacob Frey announced he had requested the Minnesota National Guard at 4 p.m. and within the hour, the City of Minneapolis announced a large section of Whittier would have limited vehicle traffic to prevent “the entry of materials for barricades or fires that could further disrupt or harm the neighborhood.” 

Minneapolis police officers and the National Guard will be at select entry points, according to the city. 

This is a developing story.