The two federal immigration agents who shot Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol Agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection Agent Raymundo Gutierrez.
Records viewed by ProPublica name Ochoa, 43, and Gutierrez, 35, as the shooters in last weekend’s deadly confrontation that left Pretti dead and sparked massive protests and calls for criminal investigations.
The two men were assigned to Operation Metro Surge, an immigration enforcement operation launched in December that sent numerous armed and masked agents across the city.
CBP, which employs both men, has so far refused to release their names and has released few other facts about the deadly incident, which came days after another immigration agent fatally shot another Minneapolis protester, a 37-year-old mother of three named Renee Good.
Pretti’s killing, and the secrecy surrounding the agents involved, comes as the country grapples with the fallout from President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown. Sweeps in cities across the country have been marked by scenes of violence against immigrants and American citizens, perpetrated by officers authorized to hide their identities with masks – a practice almost unheard of in law enforcement. As a result, the public has been locked out of one of the primary avenues it has to hold officers involved in such altercations accountable: their identities.
Both a democrat and Republican the legislators have called for a transparent investigation into the killing of Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse working at a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital.
“We must have a transparent, independent investigation into the shootings in Minnesota, and those responsible, regardless of their title, must be held accountable,” said Republican Sen. John Curtis of Utah. written the Monday.
The agency sent a notice to some members of Congress on Tuesday acknowledging that two officers fired Glock pistols during the altercation that left Pretti dead. This notice does not include the names of the agents. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees CBP, said the agents were placed on leave after the Jan. 24 shooting. And after a week of protests and calls from lawmakers for a review, the Justice Department said Friday that its Civil Rights Division was investigating the shooting. A DOJ spokesperson did not respond to questions, including whether DHS shared documents, such as body camera footage, with its investigators.
Ochoa is a Border Patrol agent who joined CBP in 2018. Gutierrez joined in 2014 and works for CBP’s Office of Field Operations. He is assigned to a special response team, which conducts high-risk operations like those of police SWAT units. Records show both men are from South Texas.
Following the shooting, Gregory Bovino, who has orchestrated high-intensity immigration operations and arrests in a series of Democratic-run cities since early 2025, was removed as Border Patrol commander at large and reassigned to his former post in El Centro, California.
A DHS spokesperson declined to answer questions about the two agents and referred ProPublica to the FBI. The FBI declined to comment. ProPublica repeatedly attempted to call Ochoa and Gutierrez, but neither responded.
Ochoa, who goes by Jesse, graduated from the University of Texas-Pan American with a degree in criminal justice, according to his ex-wife, Angelica Ochoa. A longtime resident of the Rio Grande Valley, Ochoa dreamed of working for the Border Patrol for years and finally landed a job there, she said. By the time the couple separated in 2021, he had become a gun enthusiast with about 25 rifles, pistols and shotguns, Angelica Ochoa said.
The DHS disclosure to Congress stems from an internal review of the agents’ body camera footage, which has not been made public. State investigators, meanwhile, have accused their federal counterparts of preventing them from investigating the shooting.
“We have no information on the shooters,” a spokesperson for the city of Minneapolis said. A spokesperson for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Tuesday that his office had “also not received the names, and we have no new information about the investigation.”
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee, in a letter Monday to Attorney General Pam Bondiaccused the Justice Department of covering up evidence in the murders of Pretti and Good.
“The DOJ also prevented prosecutors and agents from cooperating with state law enforcement officials and blocked state officials from accessing evidence,” the letter states.
Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, told CNN on Sunday that immigration agents should not be masked.
“They must not be anonymous. They must be identifiable. And they must have rules of engagement that do not allow them to terrorize and intimidate, harass and assault American citizens and others,” he said.
The notice to Congress said the shooting occurred when Pretti resisted arrest after officers failed to remove him and a female protester from the street.
The CBP officer “attempted to move the woman and Pretti off the road. The woman and Pretti did not move,” the report states. “CBP personnel attempted to arrest Pretti. Pretti resisted the efforts of CBP personnel and a struggle ensued.”
According to the report, an officer then shouted, “He has a gun!” ” several times, and two others “unloaded” their Glock pistols.
In videos widely shared online, Pretti can be seen brandishing a phone, documenting the movements of federal agents and officers as they roamed the streets of a popular dining and arts district. According to media reports, Pretti was concerned about the city’s increasingly volatile siege by federal agents.
In the videos, a masked officer is seen knocking a woman to the ground. Pretti comes to his aid, placing himself between them, at which point the officer sprays pepper spray in his face. Two agents then grab Pretti and pull him to the ground, while other federal personnel pile in. During the struggle, the agents fired a series of shots – around ten – to the cries of spectators.
Pretti was armed at the time of the encounter with a legally owned handgun, according to state and federal officials. Some analyzes of bystander videos appear to show a federal agent take Pretti’s gun from his hip before the first shots. The officers’ masks and the chaos of the altercation make it difficult to differentiate between them.
These videos appear to contradict claims by Bovino and other officials, including DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, that Pretti came to attack agents.
“Officers attempted to disarm the individual, but he violently resisted,” Bovino said during a Jan. 25 news conference. “Fearing for his life as well as the lives of his fellow officers, a Border Patrol agent fired defensive shots.
In the aftermath, Stephen Miller, one of Trump’s top aides and a top immigration enforcement official, called Pretti a “potential assassin.” But Miller changed course later in the week when he said in a statement that CBP officers “may not have followed” protocol for confronting bystanders.
Additional video surfaced showing Pretti in another altercation with federal agents 11 days before his death. The video shows Pretti yelling at the officers, who get into an SUV and begin to drive away. Pretti then turned off the vehicle’s taillight and the officers, who were wearing protective masks, jumped out and tackled him to the ground.
It is unclear whether one of the same officers was involved in both incidents.
Lauren Bonds, executive director of the National Police Accountability Project, said many local and state police departments are “much more transparent” than CBP when officers shoot people. “More and more police departments are choosing to release body camera or dashcam footage within days. »
Gil Kerlikowske, former CBP commissioner, told ProPublica it was difficult to draw conclusions from the chaos in bystander videos. Still, he said, the shooting could have been avoided. Pretti’s attempt to help the woman thrown to the ground could have been considered interference with federal law enforcement, he said. But the officers’ decision to immediately use pepper spray created a chaotic scene that likely contributed to Pretti’s death.
“The other officer could have said ‘don’t intervene’ or ‘back off,'” Kerlikowske said. “Rather than immediately switching to pepper spray, you can arrest the person.” It’s part of a pattern, he said, by federal agents proceed directly to the use of force in situations that could have been defused but instead create danger for both the agents and their targets.
Pretti’s death and the federal government’s characterization of the event sparked immediate protests, prompting thousands to come out in frigid conditions in Minneapolis and other U.S. cities. The shooting also drew sharp criticism from political leaders, including Walz, who promised that his state’s law enforcement agencies would conduct their own criminal investigation.
