The family Alex Pretti says the first 15 seconds of the struggle show how the special forces handled their son in a horrific way, contrary to official statements

The street near where Alex Pretti was killed has become a focal point for community mourning and protest. Businesses and nightlife venues that are normally part of Minneapolis’s mixed residential–commercial landscape have been quieter, with makeshift memorials of candles and flowers marking the spot where people have gathered to grieve and call for answers.

In the days since the January 24 shooting, multiple bystander videos of the incident have circulated widely online. These recordings show chaotic interactions between federal agents and civilians, including Pretti, during an immigration enforcement operation in the Whittier neighborhood. What has been verified in the footage is that Pretti held a cellphone in the moments before he was subdued and shot, and that he was not seen brandishing or firing a weapon before being pinned to the ground. Reuters, AP, BBC, and other news outlets that reviewed footage confirmed that he appeared to be filming agents and intervening to assist another person when the confrontation unfolded.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has defended the agents’ actions, stating that Pretti approached officers with a firearm and “violently resisted” efforts to disarm him, and that an agent fired in what they called defensive shots. DHS officials say he was legally carrying a handgun and that officers were acting to protect themselves and others. Those accounts remain part of ongoing federal statements.

However, local authorities, media analyses, and independent review of bystander footage indicate several points of tension with the federal narrative — including that in the video recorded before Pretti was shot, he is holding a phone and not seen pointing a weapon at agents, and that a firearm is removed from his waistband by an agent before shots are fired.

In Minneapolis and beyond, this discrepancy has fueled broader public debate over how the shooting occurred, the role of federal immigration enforcement in the city, and the need for transparent investigation. Local officials and community members have demanded fuller access to body-camera footage and other evidence so that the events leading up to Pretti’s death can be understood in context.