US3 min(s) read
Published 13:19 25 Jan 2026 GMT
Newly reviewed video footage has added further scrutiny to the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis, the second deadly incident involving immigration enforcement officers in the city in January.
Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, was shot on January 24 during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement-linked operation in south Minneapolis.
Federal officials initially said agents opened fire after encountering an armed man who posed a threat.
However, multiple videos recorded by bystanders and officers are now being examined as part of ongoing reviews into what happened in the moments before and after the shooting.
While much of the focus has been on whether Pretti was armed when agents confronted him, attention has increasingly shifted to a brief exchange captured on audio after the gunfire had already ended.
The words themselves are not immediately clear when watching the footage in real time, but they become unmistakable when the audio is isolated and slowed.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Border Patrol agents were assisting with an enforcement operation when they encountered Pretti. In a statement released after the shooting, DHS said Pretti was carrying a firearm and that agents attempted to take the weapon from him before shots were fired.
“During the encounter, the individual produced a firearm and resisted officers’ attempts to gain control of it,” DHS said. “An agent fired defensive shots, fearing for the safety of the officers on scene.”
However, analysis of the available video footage shows Pretti holding a cellphone as he records the officers.
At no point before the shots are fired is a gun clearly visible in his hands. During a brief physical struggle, one officer appears to reach toward Pretti’s waist area and then pull away with an object consistent with a handgun.
The shots follow almost immediately.
It is after Pretti is on the ground that the audio exchange takes place.
One officer can be heard asking a short, direct question, followed by another officer responding that he has the item in question. The words - 'where’s the gun?' - are now central to questions about when the firearm was secured relative to the decision to use lethal force.
Federal authorities have confirmed they are reviewing all video evidence as part of an internal investigation. No agent has been publicly identified as having fired the fatal shots.
Video courtesy of Bring Me The News.
Pretti’s family has strongly disputed the government’s account.
In a public statement, they said claims that he posed an immediate threat were 'false' and 'contradicted by video evidence.'
“Our son was not threatening anyone,” the family said.
“He was holding his phone and filming. The video shows this clearly.”
They have called for a full, transparent investigation and said they want all body-worn camera footage and communications from the operation released.
DHS, meanwhile, has said it stands by its initial description of the encounter while reviews continue. “These incidents are taken seriously,” the department said in a follow-up statement.
“Any use of force by federal officers is subject to review.”
The shooting has drawn attention in part because it follows another fatal incident involving federal immigration officers in Minneapolis earlier this month, increasing public and media focus on enforcement operations in the city.
As investigators continue to piece together the sequence of events, the brief audio captured after the shooting has become a key point of reference.
The question heard on the recording — asked only after the shots were fired — has raised fresh questions about the precise timeline and decision-making in the seconds that led to Alex Pretti’s death.
