AI-enhanced image of Alex Pretti’s shooting circulates online

On Jan. 24, 2026, at least one federal agent in Minneapolis fatally shot Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse who had been participating in protests against U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Videos of the shooting quickly spread on social media, with many users questioning their authenticity.

An image claiming to show Pretti being shot and falling was among the content that spread online following the shooting. The image appeared to capture Pretti wearing a brown jacket, on one knee and about to fall onto his side. The right side of the image showed what appeared to be three federal agents: one kneeling on the ground, another with his gun pointed at Pretti’s head and one holding a gun in the background.

Snopes readers shared different versions of the image, which varied in quality. The one below shows many details of the moment in question, including the shadows on people’s clothes and Pretti’s hair:

(X user @fred_guttenberg)

Another version of the same image featured a blurry background:

(Facebook user “Tony Michaels”)

Neither of the above images is an entirely authentic depiction of the moment in question. Rather, both appeared to be AI-enhanced and edited versions of a blurred screenshot taken from verified footage showing Pretti being shot and falling to the ground. All footage of the incident that Snopes has reviews was low-quality and blurry.

A blurrier version of the above images spread online. Unlike the others, it was an authentic and unedited screengrab from a video showing the moment Pretti was shot.

(X user @fred_guttenberg)

Determining the authenticity of the screengrab

The moment above appeared in authenticated footage of the shooting. The video below was taken by a woman wearing pink and filming from the sidewalk, as confirmed by The New York Times and other media outlets. Pretti was shot and fell to his side around the 1:03 mark as seen in this video from Drop Site News. 

We took a screengrab of that moment in the video:

(Screengrab via Drop Site News)

Pretti falls to the side at the same angle seen in the claims above. The positioning of the federal agents on the right side of the frame is also the same — one agent is kneeling with his right knee on the ground and his left knee propped up, while another stands over Pretti. 

On the left side of the AI-enhanced screengrab, only part of another agent’s leg is visible, while in the authentic video, he is in frame.  

MPR News, a Minnesota-focused news outlet, obtained a higher-quality version of the video. At 37 seconds, Pretti can be seen falling sideways at the same angle shown in the above screenshot.

A stabilized version of the video circulated online, showing clearly the moment Pretti falls. A screenshot of the moment is shown below:

(X user @AFStreamWatch)

A video taken from behind Pretti, in which the woman in pink can be seen filming, shows his body falling to the left:

(Screengrab via The New York Times)

Identifying editing, manipulation in enhanced videos

The images shared online contain a number of red flags. First, there is no available footage from that angle that shows the level of detail visible in the images.

We ran one of the enhanced images through AI-detection tools SightEngine and Hive Moderation. SightEngine determined it was uncertain whether the image had been manipulated using AI, while Hive Moderation indicated a low likelihood that the image had AI-generated content. (Research shows AI-detection software is imperfect, and readers should consider the tools’ results with skepticism.)

The second image in question contained several editing errors. First, the federal agent kneeling on the ground is missing his left foot. Second, the dark-colored X logos on the pink door and window frames in the background appear to be disrupted in multiple places. Original footage shows an uninterrupted pattern of Xs in the background.  

Pretti had been participating in protests after the killing of Renee Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in early January 2026. The Department of Homeland Security claimed he approached federal officers with a handgun. Bystander videos show he was holding only a phone, and news analysis of the videos showed agents had already secured the handgun Pretti was carrying before shooting him. Pretti’s family told The Associated Press that he had a permit to carry a concealed handgun in Minnesota.

Snopes has looked into rumors about photographs and footage surrounding shootings and arrests by federal agents in Minneapolis, including miscaptioned photographs claiming to show Good before her killing.  

Sources