Trump: ‘Reviewing Everything’ After Nurse Killed in Minneapolis
Trump orders a federal review after the fatal Minneapolis shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti, as protests grow and questions mount over ICE actions.
US President Donald Trump said his administration is "reviewing everything" after a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, Alex Pretto, was shot and killed by immigration agents in Minneapolis on Saturday.
In a statement to the Wall Street Journal, Trump also indicated that he would eventually remove the agents from the city. However, he did not provide a timeline.
Protests continued in Minneapolis and other US cities on Sunday, as Minnesota Governor Tim Walz warned that the US is at a "critical turning point."
The facts surrounding the incident – the second shooting death of a US citizen by agents in recent weeks – have been hotly debated, creating a new clash between state and federal authorities.
The administration has defended the officer who shot Pretto. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said Pretto was shot because he was "displaying" a gun.
Local authorities have disputed this, saying the gun was legally registered and that Pretto was shot after he had put the weapon down.
Pretto's family also stated that he owned a handgun and had a permit to carry a concealed handgun in Minnesota – but they had never seen him carrying the gun.
Local police have confirmed that he was a valid gun owner with a permit. In Minnesota, it is legal to carry a handgun in public if the owner has a permit.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was asked directly twice whether the agent acted appropriately during the incident. He responded: "We're looking at it, we're reviewing everything, and we'll make a decision."
He also told the newspaper: "I don't like any shootings. I don't like it." He added: "But I also don't like it when somebody goes to a protest and they have a very powerful, fully loaded gun with two magazines full of bullets. That's not good either." The Trump administration is facing pressure from some prominent Republican leaders who, along with opposition Democrats, are demanding a comprehensive investigation.
The terms of the investigation became a point of contention in the case of Renée Good, the first American citizen shot and killed by a federal agent in Minneapolis earlier this month. The incident is being investigated by the FBI, after Minnesota authorities recused themselves following a dispute with federal personnel.
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Another controversy appears to be emerging during the investigation into a second shooting. On Sunday, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said that despite obtaining a search warrant, state authorities were prevented from accessing the scene by federal agents.
He added that law enforcement agencies at all levels in Minnesota had been working with federal law enforcement agencies "for many years," and that the circumstances unfolding in Minnesota were hindering the agencies' ability to continue such investigations.
On Saturday, federal agents shot and killed Preeti in Minneapolis, and videos have since emerged showing an altercation between Border Patrol agents and Preeti just before the shooting.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the agents fired in self-defense, as Preeti, who they claimed was armed with a handgun, resisted their attempts to disarm her.
Eyewitnesses, local officials, and the victim's family have disputed this account, stating that she was holding a phone, not a weapon.
U.S. Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino previously stated that at the time of the shooting, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were conducting a "targeted" operation searching for a man named Jose Huerta Chuma, whose criminal history includes domestic assault, intentional infliction of bodily harm, and disorderly conduct. The Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) later refuted these claims, stating that Huerta had never been in Minnesota DOC custody and that public records showed only minor traffic offenses from more than a decade ago.
Among the Republicans expressing concern about these events was Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, who said people were watching their fellow Americans being shot on television and that "federal strategy and accountability" had become a growing concern for voters.
Senator Bill Cassidy said both federal and state authorities should be involved in investigating the second fatal shooting. He said the shootings were "incredibly disturbing" and that "the credibility of ICE and DHS is at stake."
Trump ally Congressman James Comer suggested the president should consider withdrawing immigration agents from Minneapolis and sending them elsewhere, saying the city's mayor and the state's governor were putting them in danger, and that "more innocent lives are at risk."
In his comments to the Wall Street Journal, Trump said of the deployment: "At some point we'll leave. We've—they've done a great job."
Democrats in Congress have responded by threatening to block the government funding package if it includes funds for the DHS – raising the prospect of another federal government shutdown.
Former Democratic presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have both criticized the situation in Minneapolis, with Clinton describing the events in Minneapolis as "horrific scenes" that "I never thought I would see in America."
The National Rifle Association (NRA) – which usually sides with Trump – has also opposed Trump, joining other US gun lobby groups in demanding a full investigation. In a statement, it said: "Responsible people should await a full investigation, not generalize and demonize law-abiding citizens."
Several vigils were held in the city over the weekend for Preeti.
Longtime resident Paige Miller, 69, was among those who gathered Sunday afternoon to pay tribute and protest against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE).
Protesters of all ages chanted "No More Minnesota Nice – Minneapolis on Strike" and "ICE Out Now" before marching through the city streets.
The protests have spread to other US cities, including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
More than 60 CEOs of Minnesota-based businesses, including 3M, Best Buy and Target, have also written an open letter calling for "immediate de-escalation" and urging local and federal officials to "work together to find real solutions."
The administration has described the Minneapolis operation as a public safety effort aimed at removing criminals living illegally in the US. It has also described Preeti as a "domestic terrorist."
Critics say that migrants with no criminal records and even US citizens are also being detained. Preeti's family issued a statement in response to the comments, saying: "The sickening lies spoken by the administration about our son are reprehensible and disgusting."
They said he had no contact with law enforcement other than a traffic ticket. According to the Associated Press (AP), court records show he had no criminal record.
"Please let the truth about our son come out. He was a good man," his family said in the statement. On Sunday, Governor Walz said: “I don’t care if you’re a conservative and you’re flying a Donald Trump flag, you’re a libertarian, don’t tread on me, you’re a Democratic Socialist of America. This is a turning point, America.
“If we can’t all agree that an American citizen is being smeared and everything they stood for is being tarnished and we’re being told not to believe what we saw, then I don’t know what else to tell you.”
The second shooting followed weeks of tension between Minnesota authorities, federal agents, and protesters who had taken to the streets to monitor the agents during their anti-immigration raids.
Earlier this month, an ICE agent shot and killed Good, a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident, who was participating in one such monitoring effort.
Good’s family’s law firm, Romanucci & Blandin, urged all Americans to “trust their eyes when interpreting the horrific video” of Pretty’s shooting.
Trump’s crackdown in Minneapolis began in December, when several Somali immigrants were indicted for widespread fraud in state welfare programs. The state is home to the largest community of Somali immigrants in the United States.
ICE agents have the power to stop, detain, and arrest individuals they suspect of being in the United States illegally.
Some Minnesotans said they supported the ICE operations, but several polls indicate that roughly half of voters nationwide support Trump’s efforts to deport those living in the US illegally.
Other polls suggest that voters are divided on how Trump is carrying out this crackdown on undocumented immigrants.
Meanwhile, on Sunday evening, Trump demanded in a post on Truth Social that Walz and Frey, as well as “every Democrat governor and mayor in the United States,” The mayor "should formally cooperate with the Trump administration to enforce our nation's laws, instead of inciting division, anarchy, and violence and resisting."
He also called on the U.S. Congress to eliminate sanctuary cities, which he alleged were the cause of "all these problems."
The term "sanctuary city" is commonly used in the United States to describe jurisdictions that limit their cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
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