Minneapolis | Pakistan

US President Donald Trump walked back his conciliatory tone on Friday after outrage over the killings of two American citizens in Minneapolis by federal agents, branding one of them, Alex Pretti, an “agitator.” Footage shared online this week reportedly showed intensive care nurse Pretti in a scuffle with federal agents 11 days before he was shot dead on Saturday by officers enforcing an immigration crackdown. The White House has scrambled to stem widespread outrage over Pretti’s killing, which came weeks after Renee Good, another US citizen and mother of three, was fatally shot by agents in the same city. Trump claimed he wanted to “de-escalate a little bit” in the fallout of the killings and appointed a new point man in Minneapolis, border chief Tom Homan, who said on Thursday that some federal agents could be withdrawn from the city after weeks of protests against immigration raids. On Friday, the US president said Pretti, 37, was an “agitator and, perhaps, insurrectionist,” on his Truth Social platform. “...

At least two federal agents who were involved in Saturday’s fatal shooting of a US citizen in Minneapolis have been placed on administrative leave, two US media outlets said on Wednesday. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the two immigration agents who discharged their weapons during the deadly encounter with Alex Pretti were put on leave as part of standard procedures, Fox News reported. MS NOW earlier reported that agents involved in the shooting of Pretti were being put on leave, citing an unnamed source. Representatives for DHS could not be immediately reached to confirm the reports. Immigration agents on Saturday fired multiple shots at Pretti, an ICU nurse at a hospital for veterans. His death was the second fatal encounter between Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and US citizens in Minnesota this month, sparking a national uproar. US review of Pretti’s killing does not mention him brandishing firearm Meanwhile, an initial US government review of the fatal shooting of Pretti made ...

Bundled up in a yellow hat and black puffer jacket, Taylor was one of hundreds of protesters marching after the killing of a second US citizen this month by federal agents carrying out an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis. The violence has put new pressure and scrutiny on US President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation campaign, which has drawn demonstrators onto the streets of the Midwestern city. “I think it was completely senseless, it was murder,” said the young woman, who did not want to give her last name. Federal agents shot to death 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti, claiming he intended to harm them during a confrontation on Saturday. However, a video shared widely on social media and verified by US media showed Pretti never drawing a weapon, with agents firing at him seconds after he was sprayed in the face with a chemical irritant and thrown to the ground. “I think the way that the government is bringing ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) in to take away our neighbours and to pull fami...

Video footage of the moment immigration agents shot dead a 37-year-old nurse in Minneapolis on Saturday appears to contradict Trump administration claims that the man was a violent aggressor who sought to “massacre” federal law enforcement officials. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after the shooting said Alex Pretti had “approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun” and “violently resisted” when they attempted to disarm him. Administration officials did not say whether Pretti had the gun in his hands at the time. Video shared widely by US media, which AFP has not verified, however, shows Pretti with a phone in his hands, filming agents in a snow-lined street and directing traffic. After an agent shoves a woman protester to the ground on the sidewalk, Pretti steps in between them and is sprayed in the face by a chemical irritant. The agent then pulls Pretti to the ground and several officers struggle to detain him on the icy roadway. Seconds later, as an officer in grey app...

A man shot by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday has died, local and federal officials said, the second fatal shooting involving federal agents this month during a surge in immigration enforcement in the northern US city. The man, who has not been identified, was armed with a handgun and two magazines, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. Meanwhile, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the man was a 37-year-old city resident who was believed to be a US citizen. He did not release the name of the man, who he said was a lawful gun owner with no criminal record. A video circulating on social media and aired on cable news stations showed people wearing masks and tactical vests wrestling with the man on a snow-covered street before shots are heard. In the video, the man falls to the ground, and several more shots are heard. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz called for an immediate end to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations in the state. “I just spoke with the Wh...

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Saturday urged demonstrators protesting the fatal shooting of a motorist by a US immigration agent to stay peaceful, saying that any unlawful actions would play into US President Donald Trump’s hands. Frey, a Democrat, cautioned them as civil liberties and migrant-rights groups prepared nationwide rallies to protest the killing of 37-year-old Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer on Wednesday. Minnesota and US officials have offered starkly different accounts of the shooting. Twenty-nine people were arrested overnight in Minneapolis as police responded to protests, including a gathering of demonstrators outside a hotel believed to be lodging a visiting contingent of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, city Police Chief Brian O’Hara said. One police officer was injured in the response, O’Hara told a news conference on Saturday. People march during a demonstration against increased immigration enforcement in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US, January 9,...

A US immigration officer shot and killed an American woman on the streets of Minneapolis on Wednesday, leading to huge protests and outrage from local leaders who rejected White House claims she was a domestic terrorist. The woman, identified in local media as 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, was hit at point blank range as she apparently tried to drive away from agents who were crowding around her car, which they said was blocking their way. Footage of the incident shows a masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent fire three times into the Honda SUV, which then hurtles out of control and smashes into stationary vehicles, as horrified onlookers hurl abuse at the federal officers. Her bloodied body is then seen slumped in the crashed vehicle. US President Donald Trump’s administration moved quickly to claim Good had been trying to kill the agents, an assertion Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called “bullsh**” and urged ICE to get out of his city. Thousands of protesters took to the frigid streets of Mi...