ProPublica Names CBP Agents Who Killed Alex Pretti

The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol Agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez, J. David McSwane reported for ProPublica.

Pretti’s killing, and the subsequent secrecy surrounding the agents involved, comes as the country confronts the consequences of President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown. (Photo: Councilmember Dr. Nina Ahmad (At-Large) X) 

Records reviewed by ProPublica list Ochoa, 43, and Gutierrez, 35, as the shooters in the deadly encounter last weekend that left Pretti dead and ignited massive protests and calls for criminal investigations.

Both men were assigned to Operation Metro Surge, an immigration enforcement dragnet launched in December that sent scores of armed and masked agents across the city.

CBP, which employs both men, has so far refused to release their names and has disclosed few other details about the killing.

The incident came just days after a different immigration agent shot and killed another Minneapolis protester — a 37-year-old mother of three named Renee Good — HuffPost also reported.

Pretti’s killing, and the subsequent secrecy surrounding the agents involved, comes as the country confronts the consequences of President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown.

Sweeps in cities across the country have been marked by scenes of violence against immigrants and U.S. citizens by agents allowed to conceal their identities with masks — an almost unheard-of practice in law enforcement.

As a result, the public has been denied one of the chief means of holding officers accountable: knowing who they are.

Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have called for a transparent investigation into the killing of Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse working at a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital.

“We must have a transparent, independent investigation into the Minnesota shooting, and those responsible — no matter their title — must be held accountable,” Republican Sen. John Curtis of Utah wrote on X.