Hundreds gathered Saturday evening for a vigil, hours after a federal immigration enforcement agent shot Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident, in south Minneapolis.

The vigil was held in Whittier Park just blocks from the site where Pretti was fatally shot, with multiple other vigils held around Minneapolis. The shooting comes weeks after a federal immigration agent fatally shot Minneapolis resident Renee Good, a little over a mile away from where Pretti was killed. 

A video taken by an observer at the scene shows multiple agents wrestling Pretti to the ground before shooting him multiple times. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a press conference that Pretti was armed with a gun and two magazines of ammunition. 

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said during a press conference that Pretti had a valid concealed carry permit, according to the Minnesota Daily. Pretti was an intensive care unit nurse, according to his parents, who told AP news.

On Friday, a general strike in Minneapolis saw hundreds of business closures, drawing thousands to a peaceful march downtown, demanding federal agents leave Minnesota and the agent who shot Good be legally prosecuted. 

The evening vigil was organized by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, or MIRAC. Attendees gathered around speakers from various activist organizations. 

“No one is illegal, power to the people,” the crowd chanted. “We stand with immigrants.” 

Jacob Huelster, who owns Back Pocket Vintage & Thrift Store in Saint Paul, handed out free winter clothing and handwarmers donated by the community on the steps of Whittier International Elementary School. 

“I feel angry and scared,” Huelster said. “There are a lot more of us than there are of them, and I think that, in the end, we’re going to win.”

A vigil originally planned for 1 p.m. at the site of Pretti’s killing was postponed to 5 p.m. after federal agents used tear gas and pepper spray to disperse crowds. 

Isaac Davis, who lives in the neighborhood, went to the site of the fatal shooting shortly after it happened and witnessed the tear gas being deployed.

“It felt scary, not because of the people here but because of the state patrol and ICE,” he said. 

Davis said he sheltered inside a local business and helped people inside as gas spread through the street.

“People were coughing and crying on the ground,” he said. “The tear gas was getting inside, so we had to run out the back door and hop over a fence.”

A Minnesota National Guard helicopter could be seen circling the area, according to the Minnesota Daily reporters on scene. Federal agents left the scene around 12:35 p.m., throwing several canisters of chemical irritants into the crowd as they drove away, reported the Minnesota Star Tribune. 

After the agents left, a large peaceful crowd began to gather, Davis said. 

“When you see someone get killed less than a mile from where you live, somewhere you walk all the time, I don’t know what to do besides go there,” he said.

Throughout the afternoon, neighbors handed out water and hand warmers to hundreds of protestors who gathered at the corner of Nicollet and E 26th St, near where Pretti was shot. Many local businesses opened their doors to people and handed out free coffee and goods. Community speakers led chants and condemned the shooting, laying flowers and candles as pine burned. 

Minnesota Gov.Tim Walz has called for the state to lead the investigation, reported the Daily. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Minnesota’s primary investigative agency, said it was not granted access to the scene, according to the Star Tribune.

Walz activated the Minnesota National Guard early Saturday afternoon. Alex Taft, who lives in the suburbs of Minneapolis, said he would like to see more protective action from Walz.

“If he is going to deploy the guard, they need to be protecting people and not defending the ICE agents,” he said. 

Taft said it is inspiring to see how people have come together in the wake of Pretti’s fatal shooting.

“Seeing everyone be so generous to each other,” he said. “It’s really beautiful, the vigil that they have created.”