'Not a cheap piece of crap': Gun reportedly carried by Alex Pretti is widely popular among enthusiasts

Bill Lukitsch, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Jan 24, 2026

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MINNEAPOLIS — Alex Jeffrey Pretti, the 37-year-old fatally shot by a Border Patrol agent on Saturday, was carrying an Sig Sauer 9mm pistol that is widely popular and frequently carried by U.S. military and law enforcement.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security shared photographs of the gun with its slide retracted and sitting on the seat of a vehicle. Beside it was an ejectable magazine loaded with bullets.

Authorities said the gun and ammo was on Pretti’s person during a fatal confrontation with agents. It marks the third shooting involving federal agents since the Trump administration’s immigration push in Minnesota.

People with knowledge of firearms pointed out several customizable features of the gun that are popular among enthusiasts.

It has a detachable sight, a flat trigger and customized grip. Printed on the gun is “Sig Custom Works,” the insignia of the New Hampshire-based gun manufacturer’s bespoke line.

Pistols with such custom modifications are widely available to the general public. In Minnesota, handgun owners are required to obtain a permit for concealed carry. Minneapolis police Chief Brian O’Hara said Pretti was legally permitted to carry a weapon.

Based on the photograph of the gun, Joshua Harrison, a firearms expert based in Huntington Beach, California, said the model appeared to be a P320 AXG Combat.

Harrison noted the threaded barrel of the gun. He said this design allows for attachments such as a suppressor or a compensator, used to dampen sound or help with accuracy, respectively. The type of gun, Harrison said, would be one recognized at a gun range as being used by an enthusiast.

“This is not a cheap piece of crap,” Harrison said.

Rob Doar, president of Minnesota’s Gun Owners Law Center, said the P320 is well liked in the state, and typically runs about $1,300. Upgrades like the optic are less common, he said.

In 2023, GunBroker.com ranked the P320 model as the second-bestselling handgun in the U.S., after Sig Sauer’s P365. That is the same year Sig Sauer, the top pistol maker since 2018, produced more than 944,562 pistols, accounting for 94% of its total production, according to the trade publication.

Sig Sauer’s ascent racked with the adoption by the U.S. military. Since 2018 the P320 has been the standard issue sidearm under a contract with the gunmaker to replace the M9/11 Beretta.

Federal agents, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also carry P320s, as do many state and local law enforcement officers.

The firearm also has found itself at the center of a safety controversy. Some experts claim a design flaw allows for accidental discharge, which the manufacturer strongly denies.