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Minnesota - 24 January 2026
Alex Pretti, 37, a US citizen and ICU nurse, was killed after being shot dead nine times at point blank range by ICE agents in South Minneapolis.
Footage shows Pretti filming federal agents and interacting with bystanders during the incident. He was tear gassed while trying to protect two women, before several agents surrounded him and shot him dead.
What the footage shows
Alex Pretti films ICE agents with his phone held in landscape mode as they harass and intimidate a woman. He is wearing gloves.
Another woman standing beside her attempts to intervene. Alex walks towards the woman. He helps her towards the sidewalk. The street is icy. They are finding it hard to keep their balance.
A second woman shouts at an ICE agent to “Cut it out” as the agent approaches Alex and the woman from behind. The agent shoves the woman bystander hard, causing her to fall backwards onto the sidewalk.
Alex turns, stands between the agent and the women, and tries to help the fallen woman to get up. Alex holds his phone high. The ICE agent appears to be trying to grab it, but Alex is taller and keeps it out of reach.
The agent then deploys what appears to be tear gas from a black aerosol canister directly into Alex’s face several times as he continues helping the women. The ICE agent sprays them too.
Three ICE agents then force Alex onto his knees. The two women move away.
Alex is then surrounded by seven ICE agents. At no point does the footage show Alex brandishing a gun. The video shows him holding a phone. While he is on the ground, another agent strikes his hand and knocks the phone out of his grasp onto the street.
Black tear gas canisters are visible on the ground, and one ICE agent is seen kicking what appears to be an emptied canister under a car before running from the scene in a hurry just before shots are fired.
Was he anticipating the shooting? Why was he running away?
At least nine shots are fired by an ICE agent at Alex. Screams are heard. The agents step back. Alex is left for dead on the street.
Who is Alex Pettri?
Directly deploying tear gas or OC spray into a person’s face is highly disorientating and incapacitating. It causes intense eye burning, involuntary closure, blurred or lost vision, and severe tearing. Breathing is affected, with coughing, gagging, chest tightness, and a sensation of suffocation. Speech often becomes difficult or impossible, and panic is common. People frequently lose coordination and fine motor control, making it hard to stand, hold objects, or protect themselves. Pain can last minutes to hours, alongside confusion and acute stress. Repeated face-level deployment is designed to incapacitate. A person sprayed multiple times would be partially blinded, struggling to breathe, and physically compromised, not capable of posing a coordinated threat.
