Shootings

Sean Grayson, a former sheriff's deputy in Illinois, was sentenced to 20 years in prison Thursday for shooting Sonya Massey at her house after she called police to report an intruder in 2024.

Grayson was convicted of second-degree murder in October in the shooting death of Massey ... he and another Sangamon County sheriff's deputy responded to the woman's residence in July 2024 on a report of a prowler. In an escalating verbal dispute, he shot her three times in the face, and the whole interaction was recorded on body cam.

Grayson will get credit for time already served awaiting trial. He was additionally sentenced to two years of supervised probation tacked onto the end of his sentence, Springfield's WICS-TV reports.

Massey called 911 to report a possible intruder at her home in Springfield, Illinois -- about 200 miles south of Chicago -- on July 6, 2024.

Grayson and his partner responded to the call. He claimed he thought Massey threatened to throw a pot of boiling water at him. Massey's family retained Ben Crump as a lawyer, who's previously represented the families of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

Grayson expressed remorse for the shooting during his hearing Thursday, ... "I wish there was something I could do to bring her back. I wish this didn’t happen. I wish they [Massey's family] didn’t have to go through this experience. I am very sorry."

Grayson's defense team filed for a retrial last November, according to WAND-TV ... but the motion was denied.

Stacey Abrams may not be a congresswoman anymore, but she's very much locked in ... she told us the bloodshed we've been seeing in Minnesota is a direct result of a "military occupation of American cities," which "cannot stand."

We caught up with the voting-rights activist and former candidate for Georgia governor at LAX yesterday, where she explained ... "We are in the midst of an authoritarian takeover by the Republican party led by Donald Trump."

According to Abrams, "Their intention is to dismantle democracy as we understand it and our responsibility is civil resistance."

Yet another new angle of the newest video of Alex Pretti tussling with federal agents in Minneapolis, 11 days before he was shot to death, has surfaced ... and you can see the violent altercation and clearly hear the insults he hurled at the officers leading up to the scuffle.

Watch the intense video recorded on January 13 -- at about 17 minutes in, Pretti trots up as a crowd forms around two SUVs blocking traffic ... he shouts insults at the agents and eagerly flips them the bird, and dares them to pepper-spray him and assault him.

An agent confronts him, then backs off as they get into their SUVs ... you can see Pretti spit toward the open rear door, then kick the vehicle's taillight. At that point, agents get back out and wrestle him to the ground as protesters continue to scream at the agents.

We showed you another angle of the same chaos Wednesday, with a closer view of the late ICU nurse being slammed to the ground. He's somehow able to get up ... and the protest continues on as agents deploy tear gas to break up the crowds of angry residents and drive off.

Lady Gaga took a moment at her concert in Japan to blast ICE ... calling out the way they "mercilessly" target families in a passionate speech.

The singer-songwriter was performing in Tokyo Thursday night ... when she took a break from playing songs to get real about the state of the USA.

Gaga says she's headed back home after her incredibly successful 'Mayhem Ball' tour ... and her heart's aching for all the families dealing with immigration raids and other scary situations with the federal law enforcement agency.

Alex Pretti busted the tail light of a federal agent's SUV days before he was shot to death ... and the tense exchange -- while he was armed -- played out on camera.

The Minneapolis ICU nurse, who was killed by Customs and Border Protection officers Saturday, appears in a video reportedly recorded January 13 and published by The News Movement. Pretti's wearing a remarkably similar outfit to the one he wore 11 days later when he was shot.

The clip starts with Pretti yelling and appearing to spit on the vehicle as federal officers are driving away from the area ... before he brings his foot up and kicks and shatters the rear right tail light, leaving it hanging by cords.

Ice-T might share a common name with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but that's where the similarities end ... he told us citizens should be careful, even when protesting peacefully ... because ICE agents might attack.

We got the rapper and actor out in NYC Tuesday, where he had a message to his fans in Minnesota who are demonstrating their dissent against violent immigration raids ... "Stand strong and stay out the way. These cats will kill you."

The Grammy winner has actually been outspoken against ICE for a while now. Clips from an old live show have been making the rounds lately, showing Ice-T changing the lyrics of his classic "Cop Killer," singing "ICE Killer" instead.

Since then, things have sadly gotten much worse.

Jemele Hill says President Donald Trump's deployment of ICE is tearing the fabric of the United States apart ... and, she hopes he can do some soul-searching before it's too late.

We ran into the TV personality at LAX on Tuesday ... and, we asked her about the recent killings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota, as well as the ongoing unrest in the city.

Hill says Americans have witnessed two state-sanctioned executions in the streets this month alone ... and high-ranking government officials lied about at least one of them.

The fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents Saturday in Minneapolis has seen an explosion of sympathy and support from across the nation over the past three days ... but not from Megyn Kelly.

The conservative commentator blasted the late ICU nurse's conduct on Monday's episode of "The Megyn Kelly Show" and flat-out said she doesn't feel sorry for Pretti.

Kelly criticized people protesting violent immigration enforcement actions in Minneapolis ... she said if she had to protest publicly, she'd do so by standing on the sidewalk -- and not "interfering" with officials.

She said Pretti was part of a group of "organized agitators" who were looking to interfere with authorities ... and described him as "subversive."

Megyn added Pretti was attempting to "cause trouble" for federal agents -- and the trouble "came back on him."

Pretti, who was recording a group of federal agents, was shot and killed after he was wrestled to the ground and assaulted by several U.S. Border Patrol agents. He had a concealed weapon and a legal permit to carry it.

Trump Administration officials have claimed the shooting was self-defense, but multiple videos show Pretti did not brandish his gun, and was not attacking or resisting the agents.

Two different agents shot at Alex Pretti in the incident Saturday that left him dead ... this according to a Department of Homeland Security report to Congress.

Customs and Border Protection relayed the results of its initial investigation into the shooting of Pretti ... admitting to Congress a Border Patrol agent and a Customs and Border Protection officer both fired their guns.

According to CNN, the report reads ... "CBP personnel attempted to take Pretti into custody. Pretti resisted CBP personnel’s efforts and a struggle ensued. During the struggle, a (Border Patrol agent) yelled, ‘He’s got a gun!’ multiple times. Approximately five seconds later, a (Border Patrol agent) discharged his CBP-issued Glock 19 and a (Customs and Border Protection officer) also discharged his CBP-issued Glock 47 at Pretti.”

U.S. Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino is leaving Minneapolis as soon as Tuesday, Jan. 27 ... after weeks of unrest across the Twin Cities in response to harsh immigration enforcement activity at the hands of federal agents under Bovino's authority.

Trump Administration officials told CNN Bovino is set to return to El Centro, California, where he formerly served as the chief of the Border Patrol's sector in that Southern California region -- about 100 miles east of San Diego, and 18 miles north of the Mexican border -- on Tuesday. An unspecified number of agents are also set to depart Minneapolis as well.

Administration officials were upset about the way Bovino and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem handled the fallout from the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti Saturday. A senior official said discussions about having Bovino leave Minneapolis began that afternoon.

The Atlantic reported Monday evening Bovino would lose his title as commander-at-large and was expected to retire in the near future, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Bovino hadn't been "relieved of his duties" on X ... and described him as "a key part of the President's team and a great American."

President Donald Trump will still be keeping an eye on the situation in Minnesota ... and he announced he was sending Border Czar Tom Homan to the state yesterday.

Bovino's tenure in Minneapolis has been marked by tension ... three people in the Minneapolis area have been shot -- two fatally -- by federal agents since the first week of January.

Notable figures from across the sports world continue to speak out on the Alex Pretti shooting ... with several NBA superstars condemning what happened in Minnesota over the weekend.

Donovan Mitchell, Tyrese Haliburton, and Karl-Anthony Towns – as well as the NBA Players Association as a whole -- have let their thoughts be known in the aftermath of a pair of U.S. citizens being shot by officers.

"I don’t know the whole situation of the people that got murdered, but I do know this is BS," Mitchell told reporters after Cleveland’s win over Orlando on Monday. "It’s BS. That's just been my standpoint on it."

Anti-ICE protesters in Minnesota became unwilling astronomers Monday night ... taking in the full moon when a man dropped his pants and slapped his butt cheeks up against a hotel window.

The impromptu peep show took place at the SpringHill Suites by Marriott in Maple Grove, Minnesota, where demonstrators -- who believed outgoing United States Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino and other federal agents were inside -- protested from the curb outside.

Their message wasn't well-received by one guy in the hotel standing near a window with a group of his pals ... who decided to lodge a counter-protest of his own -- by mooning the crowd.

Jimmy Kimmel and his late-night colleague Stephen Colbert ain't backin' down against the Trump admin ... ripping into the Department of Homeland Security and ICE following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti over the weekend.

Jimmy gave an emotional plea to Americans to watch the video of Pretti's demise in Minneapolis ... describing the federal agents who killed Pretti as a "gang of poorly-trained, shamefully-led, mask-wearing goons." It's all in the clip -- he says Americans must agree that the chaotic video of Pretti's shooting death is not the "law and order" Trump supporters voted for ... and the proof is all there.

He then chokes up as he lets the city of Minneapolis and Pretti's family know they're not alone.

Melania Trump is urging demonstrators in Minneapolis to keep things peaceful as outrage over federal agents' fatal shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti on Saturday continues strong in city streets.

The First Lady appeared on "Fox & Friends" Tuesday morning to share her message, noting she's "against violence" and "calling for unity." Notably, she did not address the DHS agents Donald Trump deployed in the city ... solely the protestors.

Melania also said her husband had a "great call" with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey about de-escalating the protests in the city. The prez said in a Truth Social post Monday that he had a productive call with Walz, claiming they "seemed to be on a similar wavelength."

Dean Cain is swooping in to defend the federal immigration agents who killed Alex Pretti ... like Superman coming to rescue Lois Lane.

The 'Lois & Clark' star joined us on "TMZ Live" Monday, and we asked him about Saturday's fatal interaction between Pretti and Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis.

Dean, who is volunteering for ICE and helping with recruiting, doesn't have a problem blaming Pretti ... he says the nurse was playing with fire by, in his eyes, resisting and impeding Border Patrol while armed with a handgun.

A doctor who claims he witnessed the Alex Pretti killing says the Border Patrol agents who shot him were more interested in counting bullet holes than performing life-saving measures.

The Minneapolis pediatrician gave sworn testimony saying he did not see Pretti attack Border Patrol agents or "brandish a weapon of any kind" ... and he says "there was absolutely no need for any violence, let alone lethal force by multiple officers."

In his testimony, which is part of a lawsuit against DHS, the doctor -- whose identity is redacted -- says ... "At first, the ICE agents wouldn't let me through. But none of the ICE agents who were near the victim were performing CPR, and I could tell that the victim was in critical condition. I insisted that the ICE agents let me assess him."