New details surrounding the fatal shooting of Minneapolis anti-ICE protester Alex Pretti suggest the weapon he was carrying may hold a critical clue to what happened moments before his death.
Pretti, 37, an ICU nurse who was protesting President Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts in Minnesota, was armed with a Sig Sauer P320 9mm pistol — a model with a documented history of unintended discharges. Some gun experts now believe the weapon may have accidentally fired after a Border Patrol agent seized it, triggering another agent to respond with deadly force.
According to authorities, Pretti attempted to interfere as federal agents were arresting a woman on the street. Video footage shows an agent shouting “Gun” and pulling the firearm from Pretti’s holster. The agent walks away holding the weapon when another agent suddenly stands and fires multiple shots, killing Pretti.
Rob Doar, attorney for the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, said the sequence strongly suggests an accidental discharge.
“I believe it’s highly likely the first shot was a negligent discharge from the agent in the grey jacket after he removed the Sig P320 from Pretti’s holster while exiting the scene,” Doar wrote on X.
The Sig Sauer P320 is widely used by both civilians and law enforcement, including ICE. But it has also been linked to more than 100 claims that it can fire without the trigger being pulled — known as “uncommanded discharges.”
Authorities released an image of Pretti’s handgun after the incident, showing a fully loaded magazine. The weapon appears to be a high-end P320 AXG Combat model, which comes with three 21-round magazines and retails between $1,100 and $1,300.
President Trump shared the photo on Truth Social and questioned why Pretti attended a protest while armed.
“This is the gunman’s gun, loaded (with two additional full magazines!), and ready to go – What is that all about? Where are the local Police? Why weren’t they allowed to protect ICE Officers? The Mayor and the Governor called them off?” Trump wrote.
“It is stated that many of these Police were not allowed to do their job, that ICE had to protect themselves — Not an easy thing to do!” he added.
Although Minneapolis police confirmed Pretti had a legal concealed-carry permit, the Department of Homeland Security has maintained that it is unlawful for protesters or observers to bring firearms to demonstrations.
The P320’s troubled history is well-documented. In 2021, a Philadelphia jury awarded U.S. Army veteran George Abrahams $11 million after his holstered Sig Sauer discharged as he walked downstairs, permanently injuring his leg.
“We’ve been asking Sig for over three years now to recall this gun, to fix it, and frankly to use the same type of safeties that other manufacturers are using that Sig Sauer is not,” Abrahams’ attorney, Robert W. Zimmerman, said after the verdict.
Sig Sauer, based in New Hampshire, has consistently defended the P320, calling it “among the most tested, proven, and successful handguns in recent history.” The company says accidental discharges are extremely rare given the millions of pistols produced.
In 2017, Sig introduced a “Voluntary Upgrade Program” to address drop-fire concerns — cases where the gun discharged when dropped at a certain angle. A class-action settlement finalized in 2020 covered pistols manufactured before Aug. 8, 2017, providing refunds for repairs and a lifetime warranty for certain mechanical failures. However, it notably excluded compensation for personal injury and did not resolve claims of unintentional discharge.
