One day after 37-year-old Alex Pretti was fatally shot by federal agents, former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama publicly condemned the ongoing ICE operations in Minnesota while mourning Pretti’s death. “The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy,” the former president and first lady shared. “It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under a***ult.”

As that statement circulated, former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens amplified the message. Owens shared Obama’s lengthy statement on his Instagram story and added his own response. “THIS SH*T HAS TO STOP!!” Owens wrote while adding an angry emoji and adding, “#ICEISAJOKE.”

The Obamas’ statement and Owens’ reaction came nearly two days after Pretti’s fatal encounter with federal agents. The incident occurred on January 24, 2026, at approximately 9:05 a.m., near the intersection of Nicollet Avenue in south Minneapolis. According to video footage and witness accounts, federal agents were attempting to enter or approach a restaurant at the location.

Some witnesses said agents pushed a woman to the ground during the interaction. Others, meanwhile, described a crowd gathering as bystanders began recording the scene on their phones. However, multiple reports further indicated that after seeing a woman pushed to the ground, Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse and Minneapolis resident, was captured on bystander video holding a phone and filming the officers.

The footage shows him stepping toward the woman and appearing to position himself between her and an agent. Another video later shows Pretti being maced and wrestled to the ground by federal agents. Analysis cited by news outlets showed agents pinning Pretti face down during the struggle.

At one point, an agent appeared to be removing a firearm from Pretti’s person (local officials have said Pretti was a lawful gun owner and held a permit), with some reports indicating that this removal occurred before additional shots were fired (whether the recovered firearm shown by DHS is indisputably his is not yet proven). After Pretti was pinned, multiple shots were discharged. He was later pronounced dead (officials’ accounts differ on whether the pronouncement was at the scene or at a hospital).

“Federal l*w enforcement and immigration agents have a tough job,” Obama added. “But Americans expect them to carry out their duties in a l*wful, accountable way and to work with, rather than against, state and local officials to ensure public safety. That’s not what we’re seeing in Minnesota. In fact, we’re seeing the opposite. For weeks now, people across the country have been rightly outraged by the spectacle of masked ICE recruits and other federal agents acting with impunity and engaging in tactics that seem designed to intimidate, harass, provoke and endanger the residents of a major American city. These unprecedented tactics – which even the former top l*wyer of the Department of Homeland Security in the first Trump administration has characterized as embarrassing, l*wless and cruel – have now resulted in the fatal shootings of two U.S citizens.”

Pretti’s killing was the second fatal federal shooting in Minnesota this month. The incident followed the death of Renee Good during a separate incident earlier in January. Owens, for his part, had already voiced frustration following Good’s death. With his latest response, the former NFL star aligned himself with the former president and first lady in framing Pretti’s killing as what they described as “a wake-up call.”