Two federal officers discharged their weapons during the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on January 24, according to a preliminary Department of Homeland Security report obtained this week.
The internal investigation, conducted by Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility, was delivered to congressional committees on Tuesday. The report indicates that during the encounter, an officer shouted “He’s got a gun!” multiple times. Approximately five seconds later, a Border Patrol agent discharged a government-issued Glock 19, and a Customs and Border Protection officer discharged a Glock 47 at Pretti.
The preliminary findings do not clarify whether bullets from both weapons struck Pretti. Significantly, the report makes no mention of Pretti attacking officers or brandishing a weapon, despite earlier claims by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that such actions occurred.
Multiple eyewitness videos, which have been verified and analyzed, show Pretti did not hold a weapon during the struggle as federal agents surrounded him. One video clearly shows a federal agent removing a gun from Pretti’s waist area just before shots were fired. According to the report, a Border Patrol agent took possession of Pretti’s firearm after the shooting and secured it in his vehicle.
The incident occurred during Operation Metro Surge, a large-scale federal enforcement action that has deployed approximately 3,000 federal officers and agents to Minnesota. This deployment dwarfs the Minneapolis Police Department’s force of 600 officers. The operation represents part of President Trump’s expanded enforcement efforts in migrant communities and what federal officials describe as an initiative to address local corruption and fraud.
The operation has generated substantial local opposition and organized protests, particularly following another fatal shooting on January 7, when immigration officers shot Renee Good while she was at the wheel of her vehicle.
According to the report, officers were conducting enforcement actions near the intersection of Nicollet Avenue and 25th Street on Saturday morning. The document states that several civilians were in the area yelling and blowing whistles. Border Patrol agents and Customs and Border Protection officers made repeated verbal requests for civilians to remain on sidewalks and stay out of the roadway.
An officer was then confronted by two women blowing whistles who failed to comply with orders to move from the road. After the officer pushed both women away, one of them ran to Pretti. The officer continued attempting to move the woman and Pretti from the roadway before deploying pepper spray on both individuals.
A federal judge issued an order on Sunday directing the Trump administration to refrain from destroying or altering evidence, after state investigators were denied access to the crime scene. The timing of this judicial intervention underscores the complexity of jurisdictional questions that arise when federal enforcement operations result in civilian casualties.
The report’s findings were based on Customs and Border Protection documents and body-camera footage from officers present at the scene. As this remains a preliminary investigation, additional details may emerge as the inquiry continues and as state and federal authorities work through questions of evidence preservation and investigative access.
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