A Border Patrol agent shot and killed a man believed to be a U.S. citizen in Minneapolis on Saturday, the latest violent incident by law enforcement that has sparked widespread protests and condemnations by state and local officials.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said at a news conference with other local officials that the 37-year-old man had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead. O’Hara said the victim had no criminal record beyond traffic tickets and had a permit to carry a weapon.

The man was identified by state and local officials as Alex Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse.

President Donald Trump quickly backed the federal officials and accused Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey of “inciting Insurrection” with their rhetoric.

Gregory Bovino, a Border Patrol commander-at-large, said the man approached Border Patrol officers with a 9mm semiautomatic handgun and “violently resisted” attempts to disarm him. Neither he nor other federal officials said he brandished the weapon.

“Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, an agent fired defensive shots,” he said in a statement.

Bovino said on CNN’s "State of the Union" that the agents who shot Pretti were moved out of Minneapolis and “more than likely” put on administrative duty.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem echoed Bovino’s remarks in a news conference at FEMA ahead of a winter storm and claimed, without presenting evidence, that Pretti had impeded the work of the Border Patrol and was a “domestic terrorist.”

Walz dismissed the federal officials’ accounts of Saturday’s shooting.

“It is nonsense, people. It’s nonsense and it’s lies,” Walz said in a news conference. “Thank God we have video.”

Frey described the widely circulated video.

“I just saw a video of more than six masked agents pummeling one of our constituents and shooting him to death,” Frey said.

O’Hara said there was no way to corroborate federal authorities’ version of events. “We do not know what happened prior to the recording that is online right now,” he said.

Members of Congress who represent Minnesota joined a late-afternoon news conference and suggested their support for a DHS funding bill was waning and complained about Noem’s “predetermined narrative.”

“We are, once again, now being asked to deny what we saw with our own eyes,” said Representative Kelly Morrison, a Minnesota Democrat. “We watched the videos of the masked federal agent shooting Alex in the back multiple times while he was pinned down by more than six other masked federal agents.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Fox News the Justice Department sent Walz a letter saying he “better support President Trump, he better support the men and women in law enforcement. Because if he doesn’t, we are.”

“Minnesotans and Minnesota law enforcement that continuously is being denigrated by this administration will continue to be the adults in the room, the professionals in the room, the decent human beings in the room that will keep the peace,” Walz said in his own news conference.

Authorities on Saturday fired tear gas at protesters angry over aggressive tactics used in federal immigration enforcement operations. O’Hara said officials were creating a protest zone where cars would be blocked out in order to contain the unrest sparked by the shootings, which now includes people throwing glass bottles, and chunks of ice, he said.

The National Basketball Association postponed Saturday night’s game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Golden State Warriors at Target Center in Minneapolis. The game will instead take place Sunday.

The Minnesota National Guard “has mobilized from a ready posture to active support” as ordered by Walz, spokesperson Army Major Andrea Tsuchiya said in a statement. She said the Guard would assist local police in protecting the city’s federal building and the site of the shooting.

“Much of what you’re witnessing is a COVER UP for this Theft and Fraud,” Trump said in a social media post, referring to a state fraud case allegedly conducted in part by Somali immigrants. “The Mayor and the Governor are inciting Insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous, and arrogant rhetoric!”

The federal presence has led to the shooting death of at least one other American, Renee Good, who was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer when he stopped her for partly blocking a street with her car, claiming she tried to run him over. Federal agents have used tear gas and other violent crowd-control techniques to quell the protests, but their actions have only made residents more angry.

“Our demand today is for those federal agencies that are operating in our city to do so with the same discipline, humanity and integrity that effective law enforcement in this country demands,” O’Hara said, while encouraging protesters “to remain peaceful.”

Protesters gathered and screamed profanities at federal officers, calling them “cowards” and telling them to go home, while some also chanted Good’s name. One officer responded mockingly as he walked away, telling them: “Boo hoo,” according to the Associated Press. Agents elsewhere shoved a yelling protester into a car.

O’Hara and Frey, along with Walz, all called on Trump to end the operation.

“How many more residents, how many more Americans need to die or get badly hurt for this operation to end? How many more lives need to be lost before this administration realizes that a political and partisan narrative is not as important as American values?” Frey said.

The administration has expanded its immigration crackdown to Maine focused on arresting immigrants from Somalia, the same group that inspired Trump’s operation in Minnesota.

Several Somali-Americans were involved in a large social-service fraud case, being prosecuted by the Minnesota, which the White House used as a reason to begin the crackdown. Trump has called Somalians “garbage,” and demanded their removal from the U.S., even though many in both states are U.S. citizens.

“To President Trump: This is a moment to act like a leader, put Minneapolis, put America first in this moment, let’s achieve peace,” Frey said. “Let’s end this operation. And I’m telling you, our city will come back. Safety will be restored. We’re asking for you to take action now to remove these federal agents.”

O’Hara said he had asked the state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to investigate the shooting.

Walz said separately that he asked the White House chief of staff to end federal operations in his state and said Minnesota authorities should lead the investigation.

“I just spoke with the White House after another horrific shooting by federal agents this morning,” Walz wrote in a post on X. “Minnesota has had it. This is sickening.”

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(With assistance from Se Young Lee.)

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