The Minnesota Timberwolves’ NBA game against Golden State Warriors has been called off after a man was shot and killed in Minneapolis following a confrontation with federal agents.
It’s the second shooting in a week, and third in month, there. The man has been named by local media as 37-year-old Alex Jeffrey Pretti and his death comes amid ongoing widespread protests following the January 7 death of Renee Good.
The Timberwolves said in a statement that ‘the decision was made to prioritize the safety and security of the Minneapolis community’.
The game has been rescheduled for Sunday afternoon. The Minnesota Wild’s NHL game in Saint Paul against the Florida Panthers, the Stanley Cup holders, was played as planned.
The Timberwolves game was scheduled to be on ABC today and as Ernie Johnson announced that it would not be taking place, NBA great Charles Barkley made a desperate plea for the violence to stop.
‘It’s sad, it’s scary… it’s going to end bad,’ Barkley said. ‘It has already ended badly twice. And somebody’s gotta step up and be adults because man, two people have died for no reason, and it’s just sad.’
The head coach of the Warriors Steve Kerr, the team scheduled to play the Timberwolves, has been a long-standing and vocal critic of President Donald Trump ever since he entered politics.
When Good was killed, Kerr described the federal agents involved in her death as ‘shameful’ and accused the government of lying about what happened.
He told reporters: ‘It’s shameful, really, that in our country, we can have law enforcement officers commit murder and seemingly get away with it.
‘It’s shameful that the government can come out and lie about what happened when there’s video and witnesses who have all come out and disputed what the government’s saying.’
Saturday’s incident will only serve to amplify those sentiments in Minneapolis.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O´Hara called for protesters who amassed at the scene of a shooting to stay calm and leave the area. ‘Please do not destroy our own city,’ he said at a press conference.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told the Daily Mail that the victim on Saturday was armed with two magazines, and that the gun has since been recovered by federal authorities.
The shooting occurred during what appeared to be a struggle involving multiple agents just after 9am Saturday morning near Glam Doll Donuts at 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue.
Video shows agents wrestling the man to the ground before one federal agent fires multiple shots into his chest, after which the agents scatter.
