Federal agents fatally shot a US citizen in Minneapolis, officials confirmed, intensifying public anger and prompting renewed demands for US President Donald Trump to withdraw armed federal personnel from the city amid an ongoing immigration enforcement campaign.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident died in hospital on Saturday after being struck by multiple gunshots, reports Al Jazeera.
Authorities later confirmed that the man was a US citizen. His family identified him as Alex Pretti, who worked as an intensive care unit nurse.
The shooting comes during an extended presence of federal immigration and enforcement agencies in Minneapolis, where raids have been underway as part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Tensions in the city have remained high following daily demonstrations that began after the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good on 7 January. She was killed when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer fired into her vehicle. Last week, federal agents also shot a Venezuelan man in a separate incident in the same city.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz strongly criticised the federal operation during a news conference in Saint Paul, the state capital located next to Minneapolis.
“This long ago stopped being a matter of immigration enforcement,” Walz said.
“It’s a campaign of organised brutality against the people of our state. And today, that campaign claimed another life,” he added, stating that Minnesota authorities would take responsibility for investigating the killing.
