Minneapolis shooting latest: Obamas and Clinton speak out on Alex Pretti killing as Trump demands Minnesota cooperate with ICE

Leaders of law enforcement organizations expressed alarm Sunday over the latest deadly shooting by federal officers in Minneapolis.

The federal government also faced criticism over the lack of a civil rights inquiry by the U.S. Justice Department and its efforts to block Minnesota authorities from conducting their own review of the killing of 37-year-old Alex Pretti.

In a bid to ease tensions, the International Association of Chiefs of Police called on the White House to convene discussions “as soon as practicable” among federal, state and local law enforcement.

“Every police chief in the country is watching Minneapolis very carefully,” said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a police research and policy organization.

“If a police chief had three officer-involved shootings in three weeks, they would be stepping back and asking, ‘What does our training look like? What does our policy look like?’”

Pretti’s death came on the heels of the 7 January fatal shooting of Renee Good and another incident a week later in Minneapolis when a federal officer shot a man in the leg after being attacked with a shovel and broom handle while attempting to arrest a Venezuelan who was in the country illegally.

“We’re dealing with a federal agency here,” Mr Wexler said, referring to the Department of Homeland Security, “but its actions can have a ripple effect across the entire country.”

Bill Clinton has warned the United States is at a turning point that will influence its future for decades, urging citizens to raise their voices and “show that our nation still belongs to we the people”.

In a statement, the former president said he had witnessed “horrible scenes” in Minneapolis and other cities that he “never thought would take place in America”.

He pointed to instances in which peaceful demonstrators exercising their constitutional rights were “arrested, beaten, teargassed, and most searingly, in the cases of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, shot and killed”.

Mr Clinton’s statement, shared on X, went on to say:”All of this is unacceptable and should have been avoided. To make matters even worse, at every turn, the people in charge have lied to us, told us not to believe what we’ve seen with our own eyes, and pushed increasingly aggressive and antagonistic tactics, including impeding investigations by local authorities.

“Over the course of a lifetime, we face only a few moments where the decision we make the actions we take will shape our history for years to come. This is one of them. If we give our freedoms away after 250 years, we might never get them back.

“It is up to all of us who believe in the promise of American democracy to stand up, speak out, and show that our nation still belongs to We the people.

Donald Trump claimed that Alex Pretti was carrying a “very dangerous gun, a dangerous and unpredictable gun,” but said the administration was still “reviewing everything” about the events that led to his death.

“It’s a gun that goes off when people don’t know it,” the president told The Wall Street Journal.

The Department of Homeland Security said previously that Pretti was carrying a 9mm semiautomatic handgun and shared a. picture of the firearm.

“I don’t like any shooting. I don’t like it,” Trump told the outlet.

“But I don’t like it when somebody goes into a protest and he’s got a very powerful, fully loaded gun with two magazines loaded up with bullets also. That doesn’t play good either.”

Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara previously said that Pretti was a “lawful gun owner” and that he had a permit to carry the weapon.

More than 60 CEOs of Minnesota-based companies, including Target, Best Buy and UnitedHealth, have signed an open letter calling for an “immediate deescalation” in Minneapolis.

The leaders are urging state, local and federal officials to work together as businesses grapple with how to address tensions in the state and across the country following two fatal shootings by federal agents amid a massive immigration enforcement operation that has spurred protests.

A GoFundMe set up to help the family of Alex Pretti has surpassed $900,000.

“This fundraiser is intended to support the loved ones he leaves behind with immediate and ongoing needs,” the fundraiser bio states, describing Pretti as an “American Hero.”

“Because details are still unfolding, and to ensure the money goes to the right person, funds will not be distributed until we can verify next-of-kin and identify the appropriate family representative to manage anything raised.”

The page adds: “If, for any reason, the funds cannot be transferred to Alex’s family, we will direct the total amount to the Immigrant Defense Project, a nonprofit that provides litigation, advocacy, and community-defense resources to help immigrants defend their rights and fight deportation.”