Minnesota National Guard deployed in Minneapolis after federal shooting
Minnesota National Guard troops will be deployed to support Minneapolis police after a man was shot and killed by federal agents during a Department of Homeland Security operation, Mayor Jacob Frey said.
The request was announced Saturday. Frey said the city is also filing a relief declaration and wants a judge to rule Monday on a temporary restraining order that he said “would grant us immediate relief and will help stop this operation.”
Frey said Saturday that he requested National Guard assistance, citing staffing limits at the Minneapolis Police Department, which has about 600 officers and has canceled days off.
The deployment follows the fatal shooting of Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident and V.A. nurse, during a confrontation with Border Patrol agents earlier Saturday morning. Demonstrations began in the city after the shooting, with some escalating into clashes with law enforcement later in the day.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said that after additional residents and demonstrators gathered, officers were surrounded during at least one incident by “a mix of protesters and also agitators who engaged in unlawful acts.” He said individuals erected barricades, threw glass bottles and ice chunks, and that at least two fires were started.
O’Hara said state and local officers used less-lethal munitions and gas to allow officers to withdraw safely and prevent further violence and damage. Police also established a vehicle exclusion zone in the affected area, to be maintained by Minneapolis police working alongside the Minnesota National Guard.
“The chaos that we are seeing is caused directly by ICE, border control, and this federal administration,” Mayor Frey said during a press briefing. “Most of the protests that we have seen have remained peaceful. Let’s keep it that way. Let’s not counter Donald Trump’s chaos with our own version of chaos here.”
At a separate briefing, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the shooting occurred at about 9:05 a.m. Central time as DHS officers conducted a targeted operation against an undocumented immigrant with a criminal history.
Noem said an individual approached Border Patrol officers with a 9mm handgun and two loaded magazines, officers attempted to disarm him, and an agent fired after the suspect “reacted violently.” She said medics attempted aid but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
“This looks like a situation where an individual arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage and to kill law enforcement,” Noem claimed.
Video from the scene shows an agent pushing a woman shortly before Pretti confronted federal agents. Footage shows Pretti being pepper sprayed, wrestled to the ground, and surrounded by at least six agents during a struggle lasting about 20 seconds, after which gunshots are heard.
Minneapolis police said they believe Pretti was a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.
Rob Doar, a gun rights attorney, told CBS News Minnesota that video shows an agent retrieving a firearm matching the weapon DHS later said belonged to Pretti, seconds before shots were fired. Doar said the footage raises questions about whether Pretti was armed at the moment he was shot.
President Trump shared an image of a handgun he said belonged to the shooter and accused Minneapolis and Minnesota officials of preventing police from assisting federal agents. Trump also accused city and state leaders of “inciting Insurrection.”
Saturday’s shooting was the second fatal shooting involving federal immigration agents in Minneapolis in less than three weeks, following the killing of Renee Good, whose death sparked protests in the city and nationwide.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
