On the ground in Minneapolis after the murder of Alex Peretti

Steven Garcia as he told Gabi del Valle:

I was in the middle of a frozen lake when I received the notification from… Minnesota Star Tribune That there was a shooting. I was at a pond hockey game, and one of the guys who was supposed to play later that evening said he probably wouldn’t be able to come – they knew there would be protests and demonstrations.

I arrived in just over three hours. Federal officers had already cleared the scene — and the FBI was there investigating — so the only law enforcement present were state and local officials: the Minneapolis Police Department, their SWAT team, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, and the Minnesota State Patrol.

There were demonstrators at multiple intersections. People had blocked off the streets with trash cans and landfills, and there were mattresses on the ground. Protesters were harassing officers, but there were no physical altercations. Law enforcement eventually backed off and began throwing tear gas. They drove their trucks over the mattresses as they left.

It was green smoke: hexachloroethane, the chemical irritant they were using. When those canisters explode, they explode and explode, like fireworks. Dozens of devices were exploding. Even in the beginning, there were four, five, six bombs at a time that they were throwing. I had to stay in an alley for a while because he broke through my mask. It’s not a pleasant experience, even in very small amounts. You have to keep your eyes closed. It burns your eyes, it burns your mouth. For some people, it causes nausea and a burning sensation in the skin. Another local reporter told me his neck was burning and he had to use wet wipes.

I think because of George Floyd in 2020, people knew how to respond. Community members in Minneapolis are really prepared, said Gregory Bovino, the head of the U.S. Border Patrol who was here the whole time. Many people I spoke to said, “I had my respirator ready as of 2020,” and they had just restocked safety supplies, cleaning wipes, and first aid kit. Even if they are not prepared immediately, they can quickly respond to this kind of event. At all the events I attended, people would set up a table to distribute food, water, and hand warmers. It was particularly cold today, and the temperature wasn’t supposed to go above 0 degrees.

After officers cleared the scene, everyone gathered at the intersection of 26th and Nicolet, just a few hundred feet from where Alex Pretty was shot. Some community members began a temporary vigil for him at the spot where he was killed. People were writing his name with pine cones and started leaving flowers.