Trump says the government is “reviewing everything” after Minneapolis nurse Alex PRetti was fatally shot

US President Donald Trump says his administration is reviewing “everything” after immigration agents fatally shot 37-year-old intensive care nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday.

In his comments to the Wall Street JournalTrump also indicated that he would eventually withdraw agents from the city. However, he did not give a time frame.

Protests continued in Minneapolis and other US cities on Sunday as Minnesota Governor Tim Walz warned that America was at a “tipping point.”

The facts surrounding the incident — the second fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen by agents in recent weeks — have been hotly disputed and sparked a new confrontation between state and federal officials.

The government has defended the officer who shot Pretti. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Pretti was shot because he was “brandishing” a gun.

Local authorities dispute this, adding that the weapon was legally registered and that Pretti was shot after the weapon was removed.

Pretti’s family also said he owned a handgun and was permitted to carry a concealed handgun in Minnesota – but they had never seen him carry such a handgun.

Local police said he was a lawful gun owner with firearms possession. In Minnesota, it is legal to carry a handgun in public if the owner has a permit.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was asked directly twice whether the agent did the right thing in the incident. He replied: “We are looking, we are checking everything and we will come out with determination.”

He also told the newspaper: “I don’t like shooting. I don’t like it.” He added: “But I don’t like it when someone protests and they have a very powerful, fully loaded gun with two magazines full of bullets. That doesn’t look good either.”

The Trump administration is under pressure from some prominent Republicans who have joined opposition Democrats in calling for a wide-ranging investigation.

The terms of the investigation became a sticking point in the case of Renee Good, who earlier this month became the first U.S. citizen shot and killed by a federal agent in Minneapolis. The incident is being investigated by the FBI after Minnesota officials withdrew amid a dispute with federal personnel.

It appears another argument could arise during the investigation into the second fatal shooting. On Sunday, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara told the BBC that state officers were prevented from entering the crime scene by federal agents, despite a search warrant being in place.

He added that all levels of law enforcement in Minnesota have been cooperating with federal law enforcement “for several years” and that the evolving situation in Minnesota limited authorities’ ability to pursue such investigations.

Federal agents shot and killed Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday, and videos have since emerged showing an altercation between Border Patrol agents and Pretti moments before the shooting.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the agents fired in self-defense after Pretti, who reportedly had a handgun, resisted their attempts to disarm him.

Eyewitnesses, local officials and the victim’s family have disputed that statement, pointing out that he was holding a phone and not a gun.

U.S. Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino previously said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were searching for a man named Jose Huerta Chuma during a “targeted” operation at the time of the shooting and that Chuma’s criminal history included domestic violence, intentional assault and disorderly conduct.

The Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) has since denied those claims, saying Huerta was never in Minnesota DOC custody and public records only show misdemeanor-level traffic violations from more than a decade ago.

Republicans who have expressed concern about the events include Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, who told CNN that people were watching fellow Americans being shot on television and that “federal tactics and accountability” had become a growing concern for voters.

Sen. Bill Cassidy said the investigation into the second fatal shooting should involve both federal and state officials. He said the shooting was “incredibly disturbing” and “the credibility of ICE and DHS is at stake.”

Congressman James Comer, a Trump ally, suggested that the president should consider withdrawing immigration agents from Minneapolis and sending them elsewhere, telling Fox News that the city’s mayor and governor were putting them in danger and “there is a risk of more innocent lives being lost.”

In his comments to the Wall Street Journal, Trump said of the deployment: “At some point we’re going to go. We did that, they did a phenomenal job.”

For their part, Democrats in Congress responded by threatening to block a key government funding package if it included funds for DHS – raising the prospect of another federal government shutdown.

Former Democratic presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have both criticized the situation in Minneapolis. The former described the events in Minneapolis as “terrible scenes” that I “never thought would take place in America.”

The National Rifle Association (NRA), typically allied with Trump, has also pushed back against Trump and joins other US gun lobby groups in calling for a full investigation. It said in a statement: “Responsible public voices should wait for a full investigation and not make generalizations and demonize law-abiding citizens.”

Several vigils for Pretti were held in the city over the weekend.

Pege Miller, 69, a lifelong resident, was among those who gathered Sunday afternoon to pay their respects and protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“I’m tired of protesting,” she told the BBC. “We can’t understand how this is happening. Why are we letting this happen?”

Protesters of all ages chanted “No more Minnesota nice – Minneapolis is on strike” and “ICE out now” before marching through the city streets.

“This is not the America I fought for,” said one man the BBC spoke to who asked not to be named.

Protests have spread to other US cities, including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The CEOs of more than 60 Minnesota-based companies, including 3M, Best Buy and Target, also signed an open letter calling for an “immediate de-escalation of tensions” and “collaboration on real solutions” by local and state officials.

The government described the operation in Minneapolis as a public safety measure aimed at deporting criminals illegally in the United States. Pretti was also labeled a “domestic terrorist.”

Critics warn that migrants without criminal records and US citizens are also being detained.

Pretti’s family responded to the comment, saying, “The vile lies the government is telling about our son are reprehensible and despicable.”

They added that aside from a handful of traffic tickets, he had no interaction with law enforcement. According to the Associated Press (AP), court records show he had no criminal record.

“Please reveal the truth about our son. He was a good man,” his family said in the statement.

On Sunday, Governor Walz said, “I don’t care if you’re a conservative and fly a Donald Trump flag, you’re a libertarian, don’t step on my toes, you’re an American democratic socialist. This is a turning point, America.”

“If we can’t all agree that insulting an American citizen and tarnishing everything he stood for and asking us not to believe what we saw is, I don’t know what else to tell you.”

The second shooting followed weeks of tension between Minnesota authorities, federal agents and protesters who took to the streets to watch the agents conduct anti-immigration raids.

Earlier this month, an ICE agent shot and killed Good, a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident who was taking part in one such observation.

In a statement to CBS News, the BBC’s U.S. media partner, Good’s family law firm Romanucci & Blandin urged all Americans to “trust their own eyes when interpreting the horrific video” of Pretti’s shooting.

Trump’s crackdown in Minneapolis began in December after some Somali immigrants were convicted of massively defrauding government welfare programs. The state is home to the largest community of Somali immigrants in the United States.

ICE agents have the power to stop, detain, and arrest anyone they suspect is in the United States illegally.

Few Minnesotans the BBC spoke to said they supported ICE operations, but several polls suggest about half of voters nationwide support Trump’s efforts to deport those living in the U.S. illegally.

Other polls suggest voters are divided over Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants.

Meanwhile, in a post on Truth Social on Sunday evening, Trump demanded that Walz and Frey and “EVERY Democratic governor and mayor in the United States” must “formally work with the Trump administration to enforce our nation’s laws rather than resist and fan the flames of division, chaos and violence.”

He also called on the U.S. Congress to abolish sanctuary cities, which he said were the cause of “all of these problems.”

The term “sanctuary city” is often used to describe places in the United States that limit their support to federal immigration authorities.