I feel like I’ve seen this horror movie before.
Having grown up in Northern Ireland and reported from there for 30 years, reporting the United States now triggers déjà vu.
Minnesota is not Belfast and the United States is not Northern Ireland in 1972, but history does not need to repeat itself exactly to rhyme.
During the 30 years of conflict, commonly known as “The Troubles”, Northern Ireland demonstrated a brutal truth. When the state increasingly relies on armed presence to manage social and political conflict, it rarely restores order.
There were British soldiers who served with distinction on the streets of Northern Ireland – 722 of them gave their lives there.
It is equally true that British soldiers were responsible for the murders of innocent people, most notably in Derry/Londonderry.
Bloody Sunday, when 13 people were shot dead and a 14th fatally wounded by the Parachute Regiment, became the IRA‘s greatest recruitment sergeant.
13 people were shot dead and a 14th fatally wounded by soldiers on Bloody Sunday. Pic: PA
An eyewitness to the horror that day once told me: “Men queued around the block to sign up for the Provos before sunset.”
The deployment of British soldiers to a place on the brink of anarchy was, understandably, framed as a stabilising measure.
But their visibility – rifles slung over their shoulders, checkpoints on street corners – transformed everyday life into a constant reminder of threat.
For many residents, especially in nationalist communities, armed policing did not feel protective; it felt invasive. It was this perception that drove young men toward paramilitary groups, who armed themselves in response.
The state, seeing more guns on the streets, escalated its own force and thus the loop closed: guns beget guns.
Michael Pretti is the second person to be shot dead in Minneapolis in recent weeks. Pic: AP
The Minnesota ICE killings sit uncomfortably within that same logic – federal immigration enforcement by armed agents in residential neighbourhoods.
It sends a signal, intentional or not, that coercion is the governing language and when lethal force is used, that signal becomes unmistakable.
And it becomes a deadly cycle – deaths become flashpoints, communities respond with protest, authorities respond with heightened security.
Read more:
Alex Pretti ‘on his knees when first shot was fired’
‘Get the truth out about our son,’ say Pretti’s family
The question quietly shifts from “why are there guns here?” to “who gets to carry them?” as politics cedes ground to force.
Northern Ireland eventually learned – at the cost of 3,500 lives – that peace comes from taking the guns out of government.
Minnesota is nowhere near that precipice yet, but the warning signs are there, in an environment where violence becomes more likely, not less.
