HAMPTON, Va. — The Hampton community gathered Tuesday night for a prayer vigil and town hall to show solidarity after federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis, including Old Dominion University graduate Renee Good and 37-year-old Alex Pretti on Saturday.
The event united faith leaders, community organizers, and concerned citizens to mourn lives lost, and protest against ICE activities across the country. Organizers also provided information on how to respond if approached by ICE agents.
"Let them know we're not gonna stand for the injustice of ICE," said Venis Adams, a Hampton neighbor who attended the vigil.
The government said agents fired defensive shots, but eyewitnesses say Pretti did not do anything wrong. Community speakers described Pretti as an ICU nurse, advocate and staunch supporter of veterans.
Congressman Bobby Scott addressed neighbors at the town hall and said it's important to speak out against injustice. When News 3 Reporter Erin Holly asked Congressman Scott if protests here and across the country are prompting the Trump administration to make changes in Minnesota, Scott said he believes they are having an impact.
"I think it's clear that the administration has backed off in Minnesota. The protests, and actually the facts–the fact that people are protesting and not accepting what are obviously lies," Scott said.
In a statement, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz's office said "the president also agreed to look into reducing the number of federal agents in Minnesota and working with the state in a more coordinated fashion on immigration enforcement regarding violent criminals."
For people at the vigil, they say they will keep using their voices to call attention to concerns over federal agents' use of deadly force and demand accountability for a safer community.
"First I was outraged–oh Jesus–I was outraged-- because he was an innocent man, going out to help someone else, and they took his life. Like she said, they murdered him. He wasn't killed. He was murdered," Adams said.
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