NBA icon Charles Barkley has issued a desperate plea for Donald Trump to take action after Alex Pretti was ‘executed’ by federal agents in Minneapolis.
Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, was shot and killed after a struggle with federal agents on Saturday.
It comes just two weeks after 37-year-old Renee Good was fatally shot in her car as she drove away from a group of officers following a confrontation.
Hours after the shooting, the NBA game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors was postponed to ‘prioritize the safety and security of the Minneapolis community’.
Barkley and the ‘Inside The NBA’ crew, which also features Shaquille O’Neal, Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith, were due to be covering the game for ABC.
When they returned from a commercial break, host Johnson had to explain to viewers that the game had been postponed. After reading the NBA’s statement, he asked Barkley for his thoughts on the ongoing situation in Minneapolis.
NBA icon Charles Barkley has demanded action after Alex Pretti was ‘executed’ in Minneapolis
A Minneapolis man who was gunned down during a struggle with federal agents has been identified by local media as Alex Jeffrey Pretti
Barkley replied: ‘It’s just sad, man. It’s scary. It’s sad. I don’t know how… It’s going to end bad – it’s already ended badly twice.
‘Somebody has got to step up and be adults. Two people have died for no reason, and it’s just sad.’
Pretti was killed in a confrontation with officers on a street in a commercial district less than two miles from Target Center, the downtown arena where the Timberwolves play.
The NHL’s Minnesota Wild are due to be playing the Florida Panthers in Saint Paul on Saturday night. That game is still going ahead as of 5pm ET.
Minneapolis police confirmed the deceased was a white, 37‑year‑old Minnesota resident and US citizen.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told the Daily Mail that agents were in the area attempting to apprehend ‘an illegal alien wanted for violent assault’ when they were approached by Pretti.
Federal authorities identified the man they were initially seeking as Jose Huerta‑Chuma, an Ecuadorian national.
Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino said Huerta‑Chuma has a criminal history that includes domestic assault, disorderly conduct and driving without a license, though federal court records did not list any cases under his name.
Pretti is a registered nurse, US citizen and a resident of Minnesota who had a gun license according to officials
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told the Daily Mail that the deceased was armed with two magazines, and the gun has since been recovered by federal authorities (pictured)
According to DHS, Pretti was armed and carrying two magazines at the time he was detained. The agency later released a photograph of a nine‑millimeter semi‑automatic handgun it said was recovered during the clash.
Officials claimed officers attempted to disarm Pretti but that he ‘violently resisted’ before a Border Patrol agent fired the fatal shot.
Pretti was pronounced dead at the scene. DHS said he did not have identification on him at the time.
Video from the scene shows agents wrestling with Pretti and taking him to the ground moments before the shooting.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said Pretti had no serious criminal history, with records showing only minor parking violations. O’Hara added that he was a lawful gun owner with a valid permit.
The officer who shot the man is an eight-year Border Patrol veteran, federal officials said.
Dr. Dimitri Drekonja, chief of the Infectious Diseases Section at the Minneapolis VA and a professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota, paid tribute to Pretti in a Facebook post.
‘Alex Pretti was a colleague at the VA,’ Drekonja wrote. ‘We hired him to recruit for our trial. He became an ICU nurse. I loved working with him. He was a good, kind person who lived to help – and these f***ers executed him.’
The game between the Timberwolves and Warriors has been rescheduled for Sunday
Several bystander videos of the shooting emerged soon after. Pretti is seen with a phone in his hand but none appears to show him with a visible weapon.
Trump weighed in on social media by lashing out at Minnesota’s governor and the Minneapolis mayor.
He shared images of the gun that immigration officials said was recovered and said: ‘What is that all about? Where are the local Police? Why weren´t they allowed to protect ICE Officers?’
Trump, a Republican, said the Democratic governor and mayor are ‘are inciting Insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous, and arrogant rhetoric.’
