Two U.S. Customs and Border Protection/Border Patrol agents, who fatally shot Alex Pretti have been placed on administrative leave. The Department of Homeland Security said the move should be viewed as standard procedure, and not as any suspicion of wrongdoing.
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🚨 JUST IN: The federal agents involved in the shooting of Alex Pretti placed on administrative leave during the investigation — Fox
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 28, 2026
THESE MEN ARE PATRIOTS! 🇺🇸
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This comes as the federal government has begun an investigation into the shooting.
Pretti was captured on video attempting to assist a woman who had been pushed to the ground while interfering with federal law enforcement operations. Agents then sprayed Pretti, who was lawfully carrying a concealed firearm at the time, and forced him to the ground while attempting to gain control of him and place him under arrest. Pretti subsequently resisted arrest, with roughly five officers seen struggling to restrain him.
During the confrontation, one agent can be heard shouting, “He’s got a gun!” According to multiple videos, an officer appears to remove the firearm from Pretti’s waistband and retreat moments before shots were fired. It remains unclear whether agents discharged their weapons first or whether Pretti’s Sig Sauer P320, a handgun model with a documented history of alleged unintentional discharges, was fired accidentally. A total of 10 shots were fired by two agents.
This marks the second fatal shooting this month as tensions continue to escalate between Minneapolis residents and federal immigration enforcement. Democratic officials, most notably Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, have repeatedly demonized ICE and the Border Patrol while urging President Trump to calm tensions, even as their own rhetoric has encouraged unlawful interference with federal enforcement operations.