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A recent report from the Border Patrol reveals that two agents discharged a total of ten shots, resulting in the death of Alex Pretti, but it does not indicate that Pretti brandished a weapon.
The incident occurred on Saturday in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during a targeted immigration enforcement operation, where 37-year-old Pretti was fatally shot.
Initially, officials from the Department of Homeland Security and Border Patrol described Pretti as having ‘brandished’ a gun at the officers involved.
However, the new government report, submitted to Congress on Tuesday, states that although an officer yelled that Pretti had a gun, there is no mention of Pretti actually drawing it.
As per legal requirements, the agency must notify the pertinent congressional committees of any deaths occurring in CBP custody within 72 hours.
The analysis was conducted by investigators from the CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility, who reviewed body-worn camera footage and other agency documentation, as noted in the report.
The agency is required to report in-custody and certain other deaths involving its agents and officers to Congress.
Officials said that at around 9am Saturday, CBP agents were faced with several protesters ‘yelling and blowing whistles’ at the officers, while also blocking the roadway at the intersection of 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue.
A new Border Patrol report says that two agents fired the ten shots at Alex Pretti that killed him and does not mention the gun owner taking out his gun
Pretti, 37, was shot dead in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Saturday during a targeted immigration enforcement operation
After making ‘several verbal requests’ for the protesters to stop, CBP claims two women confronted the agents while blowing whistles. They were ordered to get out of the roadway but refused.
They said that the women were then ‘pushed away’ and one of the ran to Pretti, with both again refusing to leave the roadways.
The officer then deployed pepper spray at both of them, while attempting to arrest Pretti.
‘CBP personnel attempted to take Pretti into custody. Pretti resisted CBP personnel’s efforts and a struggle ensued,’ the report claims.
‘During the struggle, a (Border Patrol agent) yelled, ‘He’s got a gun!’ multiple times.’
The report continues: ‘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.’
Within five seconds, one agent and one officer discharged the shots, with one using a Glock 19 and the other a Glock 47.
An agent took possession of Pretti’s gun and cleared and secured it shortly after the shooting.
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Pretti was seen facing off with federal agents before being shot. His family claimed he was ‘clearly not holding a gun’, while federal officials have alleged he was ‘brandishing’ a firearm
A gun shot perforation in a window pane can be seen in a window in front of a makeshift memorial for Alex Pretti
CBP tried to save Pretti’s live by putting chest seals on his wounds at 9:02am, with EMS and EMTs arriving three minutes later.
Pretti was taken in an ambulance to Hennepin County Medical Center at 9:14am, where he was pronounced dead at 9:32am.
A DHS investigation is ongoing and The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General has been notified.
‘These notifications reflect standard Customs and Border Protection protocol and are issued in accordance with existing procedures,’ a CBP spokesperson told The Daily Mail.
‘They provide an initial outline of an event that took place and do not convey any definitive conclusion or investigative findings. They are factual reports – not analytical judgments – and are provided to inform Congress and to promote transparency.’
Kristi Noem, the Homeland Security Secretary, claimed after the shooting that officers ‘clearly feared for their lives.’
She said the agents fired defensive shots at Pretti after he ‘violently’ resisted their instructions.
Noem also claimed Pretti was ‘brandishing’ the firearm and suggested Pretti was a domestic terrorist in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.
Gregory Bovino, the US Border Patrol commander-at-large, said Pretti planned to ‘massacre’ federal agents when he was killed.
Kristi Noem, the Homeland Security Secretary, claimed after the shooting that officers ‘clearly feared for their lives’
Gregory Bovino, the US Border Patrol commander-at-large, said Pretti planned to ‘massacre’ federal agents when he was killed
Minneapolis police said Pretti had no serious criminal history and was a lawful gun owner with a valid permit.
On Monday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were investigating the shooting.
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) was also conducting an internal review of the fatal incident.
Leavitt also said she had ‘not heard’ US President Donald Trump ‘characterize’ Pretti as a domestic terrorist.
DHS officials have maintained that Pretti approached the officers with a loaded 9mm semiautomatic handgun.
However, witness videos from the scene appeared to show Pretti holding his phone up to the agents – not a gun.
He was captured filming agents with his device as they arrested a female protester, before suddenly being tackled to the ground.
Footage suggested that one officer took Pretti’s weapon from his waistband and walked away with it just moments before he was killed.
Anti ICE protesters stand outside the Minnesota State Capitol Building
A demonstrator displays a sign during a protest outside the hotel where Greg Bovino was allegedly staying
Pretti was the second person killed this month by a federal officer in Minneapolis.
The notification came a day after President Donald Trump ordered border czar Tom Homan to take over his administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota following Pretti’s death, which was the second fatal shooting this month of a person at the hands of immigration law enforcement.
He was shot dead just over a mile from where Renee Good, 37, was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer on January 7.
As he left the White House Tuesday, the president was asked whether Alex Pretti’s killing on Saturday was justified.
He responded by saying that a ‘big investigation’ was underway.
By sending Homan to Minnesota, ‘we’re going to de-escalate a little bit,’ Trump said during an interview on Fox News’ ‘Will Cain Show.’
That’s significant since White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, when questioned repeatedly Monday about Homan’s being dispatched to Minnesota, refused to say that doing so was an effort to calm the situation.
The president added of Homan, ‘Tom, as tough as he is, gets along’ with governors and mayors, even in Democratic areas.