The death of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis intensive-care nurse fatally shot during a federal immigration enforcement operation, has been ruled a homicide by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner, a medical classification that has since ignited widespread misinformation and racial speculation across social media platforms.
Pretti was killed on Jan. 24 while filming a large-scale federal immigration operation in Minneapolis. The medical examiner confirmed that he died from multiple gunshot wounds, classifying the death as a homicide-a term that denotes a death caused by another person but does not determine criminal liability or intent.
Within hours of the ruling becoming public, online commentary escalated sharply after users identified the two federal agents involved as Jesús Ochoa and Raymundo Gutiérrez, both of whom are of Hispanic heritage. Posts across X and other platforms suggested-without evidence-that ethnicity played a role in either the medical ruling or the legal scrutiny surrounding the case.
In one widely circulated post, a user described Pretti as "murdered by ICE thugs," framing the homicide classification as proof of criminal wrongdoing. Other users pushed back, noting that coroners do not assign legal guilt and that prosecutors, not medical examiners, determine whether charges are warranted.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office has not suggested that the homicide ruling implies unlawful conduct. Legal experts routinely note that police-involved shootings are often medically classified as homicides even when later found to be legally justified.
Government records identify Jesús Ochoa, 43, and Raymundo Gutiérrez, 35, as the two federal immigration agents who fired the shots that killed Pretti. Ochoa joined U.S. Customs and Border Protection in 2018 and previously studied criminal justice at the University of Texas-Pan American. Gutiérrez entered CBP in 2014 and serves in the agency's Office of Field Operations as part of a special response unit trained for high-risk deployments.
Both agents were assigned to a federal initiative known as Operation Metro Surge and were placed on administrative leave following the shooting. The Department of Homeland Security initially withheld their identities, citing officer-safety concerns, before their names emerged through investigative reporting based on official records.
As their identities became public, online discourse shifted toward race and perceived institutional hypocrisy. One post read: "Found out them boys was Hispanic and hurried up and slapped the homicide charge on em." Other users framed the agents' ethnicity as a betrayal, arguing they were enforcing policies critics say disproportionately harm communities of color.
The online reaction has largely overlooked the legal distinction between a homicide classification and a criminal charge. Several commentators noted that federal officers are often subject to prolonged internal investigations before prosecutors determine whether criminal statutes apply.
Amid the speculation, friends and family have emphasized Pretti's background as a healthcare worker and bystander. Eyewitness video reviewed by journalists shows Pretti holding a phone rather than a weapon, and acquaintances said he had stepped in to help a woman who was knocked to the ground during the confrontation.
