Gov. Tim Walz vows Minnesota will lead investigation into Saturday’s deadly shooting

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz vowed that the state will lead an investigation after federal immigration officers shot and killed a man Saturday morning in Minneapolis.

Walz spoke at a news conference hours after the shooting, saying state agencies won’t be “stonewalled” out of the investigation by the federal government.

“I have a strong statement for our federal government: Minnesota’s justice system will have the last word on this,” Walz said at the news conference. “It must have the last word. As I told the White House in no uncertain terms this morning, the federal government cannot be trusted to lead this investigation. The state will handle it. Period.”

As of this publication, the FBI has not released a statement on the shooting or the investigation.

The federal government cut off local investigators from the investigation into another fatal shooting, when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Good.

In a statement sent by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension on Jan. 8, officials said the FBI informed the agency it would no longer be part of the joint investigation and would lose access to case materials, scene evidence and investigative interviews.

The victim of the shooting on Saturday was identified as a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident and an American citizen who had a permit to carry a firearm, Minneapolis police Chief Brian O’Hara said at an earlier press conference. The man was later identified as Alex Pretti.

Local law enforcement were called to scene just after 9 a.m. Central. They found the man with multiple gunshot wounds. He was brought to a hospital and later pronounced dead.

Unverified video circulating online appears to show the moments leading up to the shooting. 

In the video, several agents take a man to the ground and repeatedly strike him. A few seconds later, several gunshots can be heard and the man appears to fall limp.

“We do not know what happened prior to the video that is online right now,” O’Hara said.

The Department of Homeland Security released a statement on X reporting that law enforcement officers were conducting a targeted raid toward an undocumented immigrant. They claimed an individual resisted arrest, leading to “defensive” shots being fired. They said the man was pronounced dead at the scene.