ICE Agents Who Lawyered Up ‘Real Quick’ After Alex Pretti’s Killing Now Placed on Leave

Federal immigration agents involved in the fatal shooting of 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis have reportedly been placed on administrative leave after allegedly getting “lawyers real quick.”

Pretti, a registered nurse at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System, was shot and killed on January 24, 2026, during a confrontation with federal agents in south Minneapolis. Federal officials, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), have confirmed the agents involved were part of ongoing immigration enforcement operations in the city, according to The Guardian.

At least two federal immigration agents directly involved in the shooting were placed on administrative leave pending further review. DHS described the leave as standard procedure following a use-of-force incident that resulted in a civilian death and stressed that it should not be interpreted as an admission of misconduct.

Ahead of the agents being placed on leave, sources inside the department told Axios that information from the scene of Pretti’s killing was scarce, and that those directly involved “all shut up and got lawyers real quick.”

The administrative leave comes as Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which includes Border Patrol agents, prepares a more comprehensive internal review of the incident. Preliminary reporting indicates that two federal officers fired their weapons during the encounter that killed Pretti, according to a notice sent to Congress by DHS.

The official DHS account asserts that Pretti approached agents while armed with a handgun and resisted efforts to disarm him, prompting the use of lethal force. According to the DHS report, a Border Patrol agent shouted that Pretti had a gun before he and another agent discharged their firearms.

However, bystander videos circulating on social media and reviewed by news organizations appear to show Pretti holding only a phone during part of the confrontation, raising questions about whether he posed an immediate threat at the moment shots were fired.

The shooting occurred against the backdrop of heightened public dissent over federal immigration enforcement, particularly Operation Metro Surge, a campaign involving thousands of ICE and CBP personnel deployed nationwide. Pretti’s death is the second fatal shooting by federal agents in Minneapolis in January 2026, following the earlier killing of Renee Nicole Good.

In parallel with the administrative leave of agents, Minnesota authorities have taken legal steps to preserve evidence tied to the incident. State prosecutors and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension filed a lawsuit to prevent the federal government from altering or destroying evidence collected at the scene, including body-worn camera footage and other materials. A federal judge issued an order requiring DHS and allied agencies to protect all relevant evidence pending further proceedings.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and other federal officials have faced mounting scrutiny over the enforcement strategy in Minneapolis and elsewhere. The agents on leave will likely remain sidelined from active duty while internal investigations proceed and federal oversight committees review the incident, according to CBS News.