ISTANBUL

Tensions are running high in the US after a 37-year-old man was shot and killed Saturday in the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota, the city’s second fatal shooting of a US citizen by federal agents this month.

The killing of Alex Jeffrey Pretti, an intensive care nurse, further inflamed tensions, sparking street clashes between protesters and law enforcement. The incident followed the Jan. 7 fatal shooting of Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother, who was blamed by the Trump administration after she was shot three times by an immigration enforcement agent.

Here's the latest in the aftermath of the fatal shooting:

Minnesota officials, DHS at odds over account of man killed by federal agent

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed Pretti approached officers carrying a 9mm semi-automatic handgun and "violently resisted" when they tried to disarm him.

"Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, an agent fired defensive shots," the department said.

Local officials rejected the federal account of the shooting, accusing Homeland Security of rushing to “spin” the narrative, similar to the aftermath of the Good shooting. Minneapolis’ police chief noted that Pretti was a licensed handgun owner and that Minnesota law allows carrying a handgun with a valid permit.

Video of the incident shows agents spraying Pretti with a substance and wrestling him to the ground before the shooting, according to media reports.

The New York Times reported: “Footage shows Mr. Pretti was clearly holding a phone, not a gun, before the agents took him to the ground and shot him.”

According to video footage, the Times reported: “About eight seconds after he is pinned, agents yell that he has a gun, indicating that they may not have known he was armed until he was on the ground.”

A witness said in a federal court filing that Pretti was among three people sprayed with pepper spray and was trying to help a woman to her feet when agents tackled him, ABC News reported.

After the fatal shooting of Good, Trump administration officials painted her as a “domestic terrorist,” before any investigation was conducted. Pretti was similarly vilified, with anti-immigrant Trump aide Stephen Miller also branding him a “domestic terrorist” and Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol official in charge of agents in Minnesota, saying: “This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”

Judge grants temporary restraining order to preserve evidence

A federal judge in Minnesota granted a temporary restraining order that bars federal agencies from destroying or altering any evidence connected to the fatal shooting.

A court hearing is set for Monday. The decision represents an early legal win for state officials aiming to preserve evidence and maintain oversight of the investigation into the fatal encounter involving federal officers.

After the Good shooting, federal prosecutors declined to investigate the incident – in a breach of normal protocols – and also refused to cooperate with a state-run investigation.

Shutdown risk grows after fatal shooting

The likelihood of a partial government shutdown at the end of January increased Saturday after Senate Democrats said they would block a funding package that includes money for the DHS in response to the deadly incident.

"Democrats sought common sense reforms in the Department of Homeland Security spending bill, but because of Republicans’ refusal to stand up to President (Donald) Trump, the DHS bill is woefully inadequate to rein in the abuses of ICE. I will vote no," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on US social media company X, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which falls under the DHS.

"Senate Democrats will not provide the votes to proceed to the appropriations bill if the DHS funding bill is included,” he added.

Protesting the aggressive crackdown of ICE agents – including the shooting of Good and the detention of young children, as young as 5 years old – many Democrats have been calling for firm opposition to funding the agency,

Also on X, Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada said that she will not back the current DHS funding bill.

“The Trump administration and (DHS Secretary) Kristi Noem are putting undertrained, combative federal agents on the streets with no accountability,” Masto stated, calling on lawmakers to consider DHS funding separately from the broader government spending package.

Sen. Jacky Rosen, Nevada’s junior Democratic senator, also said she would oppose the funding bill until safeguards are put in place "to curtail these abuses of power and ensure more accountability and transparency."

Thousands rally in New York to condemn ICE

More than 1,000 demonstrators gathered on short notice at New York's Union Square late Saturday afternoon to protest the ICE crackdown.

The protesters held signs reading “Justice for Alex” in honor of Alex Jeffrey Pretti, chanting "say it once, say it twice, we will not put up with ICE," the New York Times reported.