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‘Don’t forget Keith Porter’: Minneapolis shootings renew attention on California ICE case
Mass outrage follows the ICE shooting of Alex Pretti, drawing attention to the shooting of Keith Porter Jr. by an off-duty ICE agent.
The recent Minneapolis ICE shooting of Alex Pretti has sparked mass outrage and revived attention on the California ICE case of the fatal shooting of Keith Porter Jr.
Porter, a 43-year-old man, was killed by an off-duty US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Northridge, California, on New Year’s Eve.
Read more: Alex Pretti was talking calmly; CBP agents shot him after a scuffle and gun grab
Who was Keith Porter Jr. and what happened in Northridge, LA?
Keith Porter Jr. was a 43-year-old father of two. In the hours before his death on December 31, 2025, he had reportedly been firing a rifle into the air to celebrate New Year’s Eve, a practice that, while illegal, is sometimes done in parts of the country.
The off-duty ICE agent went to investigate after hearing gunfire close to his apartment, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The agent then came across Porter with a long rifle, according to DHS.
DHS said that the off-duty officer fired his service pistol after Porter disobeyed the agent's request to put down the firearm. Porter allegedly shot the agent three times before he passed away, according to the agency. They described the incident saying that the ICE agent was responding to an “active shooter.”
Porter's family and friends reject the narrative of Porter being an “active shooter” and an imminent threat. The attorney representing Porter's family said that Porter’s actions possibly merited arrest or citation by the LAPD, but the ICE agent but does not justify a lethal response by a federal agent acting outside his duty jurisdiction, subjecting him to “a death sentence.”
According to friends and family, Keith Porter Jr. was a jack of all trades who worked dozens of jobs, a proud "girl dad" to his two daughters, an enthusiastic fisherman, a devoted supporter of the San Francisco 49ers, and a "performer" who enjoyed making a room laugh with his "goofy" antics.
In the days after his death, friends and family, along with protestors, held vigils and protests in Los Angeles, demanding transparency and accountability.
Read more: Trump's private message about Alex Pretti, Minneapolis shooting revealed
Renewed focus amid Minneapolis outrage
On Saturday, a Border Patrol agent shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Nicole Good at the beginning of the month, tensions in Minnesota apparently escalated, and Pretti got into an altercation with federal authorities.
The Minneapolis shooting of Alex Pretti and Renee Good has renewed discussions around ICE shootings and the killing as social media draws parallels between all the incidents.
