Family members said Pretti owned a handgun and had a permit to carry a concealed handgun in Minnesota. They said they had never known him to carry it.

I suspect that more and more videos will appear over the next 48 hours and who knows what will be seen. So far, no one claims to have a video or photo that shows a handgun.

Let's try to be calm as more information becomes available. Sometimes a clear as day photo doesn't cover earlier events that shed a different light.

This one doesn't sound good, but I do have to ask why these governors and mayors are opposing ICE agents trying to remove criminals from the city. I can understand if a civic official wants to welcome law abiding illegals to try to make a better life, but why won't they cooperate to get outright criminals out of there.

And once again, Trump's inability to filter his comments and wait for the facts is getting him in trouble and making his supporters very uncomfortable.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Saturday, January 24, 2026 - 06:23 pm: Edit

Governor Walz has activated the National Guard. It is unclear, but I doubt they are being called up to assist ICE. None of us want to see state troops engage in armed combat with federal troops. That hasn't happened in a long time.

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Saturday, January 24, 2026 - 08:04 pm: Edit

The full video, taken from the angle of the sidewalk, is... let me put it this way. I saw things during the First Gulf War that will always stay with me. But none of them were like this.

As to immigration enforcement policy and local/state responses theretoward, most of that would run afoul of the no-politics rule. The one thing that doesn't is recent disclosure that DHS has quietly informed their agents - counter to official policy - that they do not need judicial warrants to enter a domicile, which runs afoul of the Fourth Amendment. I like my law enforcement to uphold constitutional norms.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Saturday, January 24, 2026 - 11:05 pm: Edit

Post that link, Jessica. Permission given, one time pass.

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Sunday, January 25, 2026 - 09:18 am: Edit

Will do, Steve. It's an Instagram link (which I loathe), but yeah.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DT6KrVBFBrz

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Sunday, January 25, 2026 - 09:29 am: Edit

As a note - and with full disclaimer, because I know your feelings about the NYTimes - there's an article titled: "Timeline: How the Shooting of Alex Jeffrey Pretti Unfolded" that goes through the incident step by step:

48 seconds before first shot: Videos show a small group of civilians standing in the middle of a street where a person has recently been detained on the ground; the civilians are speaking to federal agents. Mr. Pretti appears to be filming the scene, and he walks closer to the federal agents while holding his phone.

25 seconds before first shot: Leading up to this moment, one agent shoved two people away from a D.H.S. vehicle and into the street. Mr. Pretti attempted to put himself between the D.H.S. agent and the two civilians, and the agent pushed one of them to the ground. The video shows the same agent squirting pepper spray in the direction of Mr. Pretti’s face. (This agent will later fire shots at Mr. Pretti.)

Mr. Pretti is holding his phone in one hand, and he holds his other hand up to protect against the spray.

17 seconds before first shot: Several agents grab at Mr. Pretti, who is still holding his phone. Additional agents approach and attempt to pin Mr. Pretti to the ground.

11 seconds before first shot: Mr. Pretti is surrounded by a group of seven agents, some of whom have wrestled him to the ground. One of the agents, who wears a gray coat, begins to approach the fray with empty hands and grabs at Mr. Pretti, while the other agents hold him down on his knees. At the same time, another agent strikes Mr. Pretti repeatedly with a pepper spray canister.

1 second before first shot: The agent in the gray coat appears to pull a gun from near Mr. Pretti’s right hip. He then begins to move away from the skirmish with the recovered weapon.

At the same time, another agent unholsters his firearm and points it at Mr. Pretti’s back.

first shot: The agent in the gray coat removes the weapon, which matches the profile of a gun D.H.S. says belonged to Mr. Pretti, from the scene. Then, while Mr. Pretti is on his knees and restrained, the agent standing directly above him appears to fire one shot at Mr. Pretti at close range. He immediately fires three additional shots.

subsequent seconds after first shot: Several agents have moved away from Mr. Pretti, who has collapsed. Another agent — the same one who shoved the civilians into the street and pepper-sprayed Mr. Pretti — unholsters his gun and fires at Mr. Pretti. The first agent also fires additional shots. Together, they fire six more shots at Mr. Pretti while he lies motionless on the ground.

At least 10 shots appear to have been fired within five seconds. By the moment of the 10th shot, the agent who had moved away with the recovered weapon has crossed the street.

As a note, the Gun Owners of America - an organization that makes the NRA look wishy-washy by comparison - has issued a condemnation of the shooting.

By Carl-Magnus Carlsson (Hardcore) on Sunday, January 25, 2026 - 12:05 pm: Edit

SVC, "This one doesn't sound good, but I do have to ask why these governors and mayors are opposing ICE agents trying to remove criminals from the city. I can understand if a civic official wants to welcome law abiding illegals to try to make a better life, but why won't they cooperate to get outright criminals out of there."

I am Looking at the events an ocean away but I think it is this: It is simply too much. IE the behaviour, words and actions take by the White House is all too much. People would not have reacted as strongly against ICE if for example Biden was president. Slow moving, soft talking, upholder of norms and traditions. (You might not have liked him, ofc.) Now imagine how people, used to the old days, react to the norm-crusher, alliance burner, ballroom builder, king of corruption that followed sleepy joe. They are terrified.
I don't think USA will become an autarchy but when this move fast-and-break-things president sends in the national guard without invitation... what are people supposed to think?
Then we got the masked thugs in ICE, led by a man whose fashion choices shows he feels he is on the right side of history.
Yeah, I see online that people think that pushing back against ICE is a fight against fascism.
It would have been surprising if they didn't

My 2c

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Sunday, January 25, 2026 - 12:22 pm: Edit

I cannot get the link to work, and have reservations about the completeness and implications of the timeline.

I have serious questions and observations that make Jessica’s interpretation far less definitive.

We see nothing of earlier events which may affect the evaluation. This is fairly common in such situations.

Pretti was armed. The detailed description of the weapon obviously comes from holding the weapon not seeing something waving around. Implications of police fantasies are not just ungrounded but deceptive. The unrecorded prior events may have established him as armed and therefore dangerous. The only interaction I ever had with a police officer while I was armed was very tense for him. (I was in my MP uniform and carrying a pistol on government property as part of my assigned duties. Essentially I was another police officer, but not one he had ever dealt with.)

It is unclear who fired the first shot or why. It is unclear why more than one agent fired or why so many shots were fired. It seems bad but I want to hear the explanation.

Pretti’s noble profession just isn’t relevant. If I am a cop in a dangerous dynamic unstable situation, I can hardly be expected to use ESP to decide how to treat each individual person. His profession is prominently mentioned solely to inflame the discussion. It would not be more justified to shoot someone later found to be an unknown serial killer, and no less justified to shoot a Nobel prize winning astronomer.

As usual, the situation is far less clear than one side reports. Your mothers warned you that there are two sides to every story. I want to hear both sides. When reporting future events, let’s leave the judgement out of it until we hear from all sides. The conclusion Jessica posted may or may not survive actual facts yet to become available.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Sunday, January 25, 2026 - 12:27 pm: Edit

Carl, anyone using the term “ICE thugs” has lost all credibility. You played the thug card; you lost the argument.

In future, leave the polemics out of it or I will delete your post, same goes for everyone.

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Sunday, January 25, 2026 - 01:05 pm: Edit

I just watched a clip of Fox News interview a retired I.C.E. Agent.

Not directly related to the shooting incident, but as back ground information that there are currently outstanding 33,000 deportation judicial orders awaiting arrest and removal of illegal migrants that have had their case heard by an immigration judge.

It appears that many of these “anti I.C.E.” Protesters have been coached to demand “proof” (warrant for arrest, due process, protected human rights of inhabitants (note: not citizens))

The point is I.C.E. Is apprehending illegal migrants that have had a judicial order in place for deportation.

By Mike Grafton (Mike_Grafton) on Sunday, January 25, 2026 - 01:18 pm: Edit

The US Constitution is clear. Article 3 warrants are not the same aa administrative ones. Else Executive agencies could just appoint administrative judges who will do as they are told...

By Chuck Strong (Raider) on Sunday, January 25, 2026 - 01:47 pm: Edit

When one cries for “due process” then we must ask “what process is due.” Deportation is not a criminal punishment where a trial is and conviction is required. Deportation is an administrative “process” when someone who enters into or remains in our country unlawfully and is removed. The illegal is brought before an article 2 judge where they must show that they are lawfully in our country and if they fail, they are ordered removed.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Sunday, January 25, 2026 - 03:09 pm: Edit

Oil companies have announced plans to build a 1300 mile pipeline from Texas to California. This is the market response to refineries closing in California. It makes one wonder at the thought process because California plans to ban new gasoline cars by 2035 and eliminate them entirely by 2045. The investment in a pipeline means either oil companies think that the car ban will be canceled or more California refineries will close.

By Carl-Magnus Carlsson (Hardcore) on Sunday, January 25, 2026 - 03:40 pm: Edit

SVC, yeah, "Thugs" was a mistake, but that is what ICE are called by some Americans. It is a little unfair; they are just doing their job. It's not like they are a new SA and joined it for ideological reasons.

By Paul Howard (Raven) on Sunday, January 25, 2026 - 05:10 pm: Edit

It looks like there are four videos of the shooting.

One from the sidewalk about 2 metres away

One from behind two cars (you see people move away from the scene into the middle of the street) - about 8 metres away

One from the street - from about 4 metres away

One from behind two cars on the other side of the street (about 7 metres away)

The version showing in the UK cuts between the four videos (note they don't show the moment he is shot) - and it doesn't have a time indicator to show if they slightly overlap or are showing it consecutively.

What you do see is a fairy high level of aggression from one of the ICE agents with the pepper spray.

You then see one ICE agent removes something from the suspect and it then cuts to a differernt angle and you then hear the shots fired.

From the videos, it doesn't show ICE in a good view - but as SVC said, the details on what happened prior to it all, has not been mentionend yet.

Saying that - I thought all Police or related forces are trained to de-escalate isssues and the offices seemed to lose control (there was several ICE offices it seem around the suspect) of not only the situation, but some did seem to lose their own self control?

i.e. if the suspect has annoyed the ICE Officers earlier in the day, did their trainig failed them?

I doubt the ICE officers will come out of this well.

Note - it seems there is also a video from within the car right next to the altercation - this wasn't shown on the Web Site, but was shown on TV news.

By Ryan Opel (Ryan) on Sunday, January 25, 2026 - 05:53 pm: Edit

This wasn't ICE it was Border Patrol officers.

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Sunday, January 25, 2026 - 07:00 pm: Edit

Steve,

Apologies for the link not working; it's one of the reasons I don't like Instagram.

In its place, here is a YouTube link, which includes slowing down of the video in places and annotation. (I'd just edit it into my previous post, but the time limit for edits has long since expired.)

Again, thank you for the special dispensation in providing the video link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znSKe2x2Ja0

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Sunday, January 25, 2026 - 07:20 pm: Edit

Thanks for the link, Jessica.

Anything that titles this "execution" is a source to be doubted immediately.

I note the original reports that SEVEN agents had wrestled him to the ground were a bit exaggerated. I have been trained for this and did it a few times and three or four are more than plenty, which is what we saw. In Texas a riot is 9 people because the cop has six bullets and a pair of handcuffs so 9 exceeds one cop's ability to handle the situation. That's not attempted humor.

Unfortunately the key elements are unclear. The first shots due to the dogpile, and next few due to the cameraperson trying to escape (can't blame them), the rest from far away. The situation had stopped and no cop would have fired at someone laying on the ground unless they saw some threat. As others had his gun, that doesn't explain well. I said before, it sounds bad but I haven't heard the other side of the story.

We still don't know why the agents fired. I cannot believe any cops would fire because they are just pissed off or don't want to bother with handcuffs. I want to hear the agents tell us why they fired. No doubt, they are "Lawyered up" and told to keep their mouths shut.

I see no crowd reaction or police reaction that would indicate anyone in the crowd fired a weapon.

But calling this an "execution" without any investigation or trial is deliberately excessive in an attempt to inflame the situation.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Sunday, January 25, 2026 - 07:26 pm: Edit

I do feel a need to say the following to everyone on both sides. If you are licensed to carry a firearm, good for you. If you carry a firearm into one of these highly charged situations that are destined if not designed to go horribly wrong, well, that's just stupid. The cops don't need help, shooting at the cops is suicidal, and anyone cops see with a gun is designated dangerous (and therefore in danger). If cops know there are armed demonstrators in the crowd the tension and risk go over the moon. NEVER MAKE A COP NERVOUS. Yell, scream, carry a sign, take video, all good. Throwing something at a cop is asking for jail time and probably injuries. Being seen with a weapon is putting a target on your head. If you have a firearm, do not go to such a demonstration, or leave it at home or at least locked in the car out of sight.

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Sunday, January 25, 2026 - 08:09 pm: Edit

Local update on situation in Minneapolis, mn.

Graffiti is now being sprayed on down town businesses all over the general area of the recent incident. Most is vulgar and evident misspelling of simple english words. Not sure if it was intended or being done by persons not familiar with the English language.

Many of the graffiti examples have a common theme, mostly insulting Federal agents of ICE, CBP, FBI, ATF etc. there are calls for violence in the messages.

Local talk radio stations are mixed in assigning blame or motivation behind the violence.

The Governor of Mn and the Mayor of Minneapolis are both blaming the Federal agents and seem to be making no attempt towards reducing the level of violence.

By Mike Grafton (Mike_Grafton) on Monday, January 26, 2026 - 07:55 am: Edit

1) Agree with Col Strong. "The illegal is brought before an article 2 judge... " which is the entire problem we see people angry about now; DHS/ ICE is skipping this step.

2) Ban all internal combustion engines by 2045? Never happen. Modern cars last much longer than 20 years. Even more so in Southern & Central CA due to a lack of rusting. Maybe SALE of new combustion engines... I am completely confident that American inventiveness will figure it out. With some growing pains and whinging. Plus some big losers...

3) SVC said "If you carry a firearm into one of these highly charged situations... " well, the past example that comes to mind is Kyle Rittenhouse. Who got all kinds of support even after he killed people because he was "the right kind" of protester.

Mikes solution. Battery powered cars are standard & chargers are plentiful. All new homes & parking lots must include provision for charging stations; existing homes/ apartment complexes and parking lots must do so when getting renovated/ sold/ whatever. "Range extenders" are basically highly efficient generators you can rent as a small trailer or that sit in your trailer hitch. In any case tax gas enough that people avoid internal combustion use as much as possible. I'm an old redneck living in Goshen KY and 95% of our driving is less than 30 miles in any car on any given day. Most of the rest is eldest son commuting to and from College 100 miles away.

I did some research (google AI) and it seems to be "A typical car needs between 12,000 to 25,000 watts (12 to 25 kW) of power to maintain a constant speed of 65 mph on a flat road." Batteries drain uphill and recharge downhill. Totally doable.

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Monday, January 26, 2026 - 08:16 am: Edit

Pres. Trump has backed off from his early support for the shooting of Mr. Pretti, now refusing to say whether or not it was warranted. DHS Sec. Noem has not followed suit, continuing to hold that Mr. Pretti was "violent" and that his shooting was warranted.

Meanwhile, A.G. Bondi has offered to Minnesota Gov. Walz to remove DHS forces from Minneapolis if the state will surrender voter rolls to the Dept. of Justice. [My personal opinion: this at least hints that the current level of DHS activity in the city is more about intimidation than it is about legitimate immigration control.]

The NRA has joined the Gun Owners of America in their condemnation of the shooting, inasmuch as Mr. Pretti was legally carrying a holstered firearm as protected by the 2nd Amendment. It has also been noted that the photograph of a Sig Sauer 320P on a car seat, accompanied by a magazine, which has been posted by DHS as Mr. Pretti's firearm, is a photograph that has been posted to social media prior to Saturday's incident by a number of days (i.e., it is not Mr. Pretti's firearm).

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Monday, January 26, 2026 - 08:29 am: Edit

Mike: China's BYD has a fast-charger that can charge to 250 miles of range in five minutes. It is more than three times faster than the best that Tesla (or anyone else over here) offers, and something like it is going to be necessary to make electric vehicles something that the majority of Americans will adopt.

By Carl-Magnus Carlsson (Hardcore) on Monday, January 26, 2026 - 08:34 am: Edit

Jessica, the photo of the firearm was posted in an older Reddit thread, and Google reversed image search attributed that date also the photo.

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Monday, January 26, 2026 - 09:40 am: Edit

Thank you for the correction, Carl.