Los Angeles, Jan 26 (NationPress) A federal judge in the US has mandated an urgent preservation of evidence pertaining to the lethal shooting of a resident in Minneapolis by immigration officers. This order comes after a lawsuit was initiated by state and local Minnesota authorities.

Judge Eric C. Tostrud from the US District Court for the District of Minnesota issued the temporary restraining order late Saturday night. This followed the tragic incident where 37-year-old Alex Jeffrey Pretti was shot and killed during an immigration enforcement operation in south Minneapolis, as reported by the Xinhua news agency.

The judge's order restricts defendants, including the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), from destroying or modifying evidence. However, it does not demand the immediate transfer of materials to state investigators.

The lawsuit was initiated by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), the agency tasked with probing officer-involved shootings, alongside the Hennepin County Attorney's Office, represented by the Minnesota Attorney General's Office. A hearing is set for Monday afternoon.

As per court documents, BCA Superintendent Drew Evans mentioned in a sworn declaration that federal agents from the DHS obstructed state investigators from reaching the crime scene after the BCA was alerted at around 9:30 a.m. local time. Federal agents continued to deny access even after the BCA secured a search warrant issued by a Minnesota District Court judge at 11:54 a.m. local time.

Evans, who has over 20 years at the BCA, expressed that he had never encountered federal authorities preventing the agency’s access to an incident where both federal and state jurisdiction were applicable.

“This is uncharted territory,” stated Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison to reporters on Sunday. “We have never had to navigate a situation like this before.”

The state governor, Tim Walz, criticized the actions, stating, “Closing the crime scene, removing evidence, defying a court order, and restricting access… This marks a pivotal moment in America.”

The incident has sparked starkly contrasting narratives between the federal government and local witnesses who recorded Pretti’s death. The recent lawsuit has been described by US media outlet Axios as one of the “remarkable legal maneuvers to assert local authorities’ right to investigate the shooting.”

According to reports on DHS statements, federal authorities claimed that Pretti approached officers brandishing a loaded 9-millimeter semi-automatic handgun with two magazines. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem referred to Pretti’s actions as “an act of domestic terrorism,” according to ABC7 News.

However, bystander video released online seems to dispute the federal narrative. The footage appears to show Pretti holding a mobile phone while trying to assist a woman who had fallen to the ground due to actions by federal agents. No video appears to depict a weapon in his possession. The recordings show Pretti being pepper-sprayed and subdued before several shots were fired.

In a statement from Pretti's family, they condemned the federal assertions as “reprehensible and disgusting,” emphasizing that the video depicted their son with “his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand raised above his head.”

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara confirmed that Pretti was a US citizen with no criminal history except for traffic violations and was a legal gun owner, working as an intensive care unit nurse at a Veterans Affairs hospital.

Ellison issued a statement Saturday night post-filing the lawsuit, asserting that “federal agents are not above the law” and demanded “a comprehensive, impartial, and transparent investigation.” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty affirmed her office’s jurisdiction to review the case for potential criminal conduct by the involved federal agents.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin dismissed the claims regarding evidence destruction as “an absurd attempt to divide the American populace.”

This incident marks the third shooting involving federal immigration agents in Minneapolis within January 2026, and the second fatal shooting this month.

Governor Walz has already committed to a state investigation, vehemently refuting the federal government's portrayal of Pretti’s final moments as “lies.”