Steven Garcia, as told to Gaby Del Valle:
I was in the middle of a frozen lake when I got a notification from the Minnesota Star Tribune about a shooting. I was covering a pond hockey event, and someone who was supposed to play later that evening mentioned they probably wouldn’t make it due to expected protests and demonstrations.
I arrived a little over three hours later. The scene had already been cleared by federal officers, with the FBI involved in the initial investigation, 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.
Protesters had gathered at multiple intersections. They blocked the streets with trash cans and dumpsters, and there were mattresses strewn across the ground. While the protesters were vocal in their dissent towards the officers, things remained peaceful with no physical confrontations. Eventually, law enforcement retreated by a block and began deploying tear gas, driving their trucks over the mattresses as they left.
When those tear gas canisters go off, they make a popping sound, similar to fireworks. Dozens were being launched at once. At times, four, five, or six canisters fired simultaneously. I had to duck into an alley for a bit because the gas made its way through my mask. It’s not a pleasant experience, even in small amounts. You have to keep your eyes closed; it burns your eyes and mouth. For some people, it causes nausea and skin irritation. A fellow reporter told me his neck was burning and he had to use a decontamination wipe.
I think because of George Floyd’s death in 2020, people know how to react to these situations now. Gregory Bovino, the head of the U.S. Border Patrol who has been on the scene throughout, noted that the community members in Minneapolis are quite prepared. Many people I spoke to said, “I had my respirator ready from 2020,” and had restocked on safety supplies, decontamination wipes, and first aid kits. Even if they weren’t fully prepared initially, they could react because they were used to this kind of situation. At the events I attended, people set up tables to distribute food, water, and hand warmers. It was particularly cold that day — temperatures weren’t expected to rise above 0 degrees.
After the officers cleared out, everyone gathered at the intersection of 26th and Nicollet, just a couple of hundred feet from where Alex Pretti was shot. Some community members set up a makeshift vigil for him at the site of his death, spelling out his name with pinecones and starting to leave flowers.
