Two Border Patrol agents involved in the fatal shooting of protester Alex Pretti in Minneapolis have been placed on paid administrative leave. This decision comes as part of an ongoing investigation, according to sources from Homeland Security, as reported by the Daily Mail.
The identities of the agents remain undisclosed, yet they are reportedly receiving mental health support as part of standard procedure. Their administrative leave is set for a minimum of three days.
Upon their return, the agents will be reassigned to desk duties and temporarily removed from field operations, as per the latest reports.
This incident has intensified the focus on the circumstances surrounding Pretti’s death last Saturday. It follows another controversial shooting in Minneapolis just weeks earlier, where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent fatally shot anti-ICE protester Renee Good.
Unlike in Pretti’s case, Jonathan Ross, the ICE officer involved in Good’s shooting, was not placed on administrative leave. However, in the wake of Pretti’s death, President Trump has called for a thorough investigation into the matter.
The officer involved in Good’s shooting, Jonathan Ross, was not placed on administrative leave, however following Pretti’s death President Trump called for a full investigation into the incident.
Trump officials initially attempted to portray Pretti as a ‘domestic terrorist’ because he had a legally-owned firearm at the time he was shot, however a new government report has undermined allegations he ‘brandished’ the weapon.
The new report alleged that when an officer shouted ‘gun’ during his arrest, there was no evidence Pretti had taken it off his hip.
Footage of the shooting that circulated social media appeared to show a border patrol agent had disarmed Pretti moments before the shooting, before he was shot several times in the back.
The two Border Patrol agents who shot and killed protester Alex Pretti in Minneapolis have been placed on administrative leave
Pretti, 37, was shot dead in Minneapolis, Minnesota, last week during a targeted immigration enforcement operation
According to the new report, which was shared as a requirement for congressional committees to review any deaths in CBP custody within 72 hours, the shooting unfolded around 9am Saturday when agents were confronted by protesters.
Agents said they were faced with protesters ‘yelling and blowing whistles’ at them, while also blocking the roadway at the intersection of 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue.
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 them 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.’
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
Kristi Noem, the Homeland Security Secretary, claimed after the shooting that officers ‘clearly feared for their lives’
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.
CBP tried to save Pretti’s life 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.’
Following scrutiny over remarks Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem made about Pretti, including alleging he was an ‘assassin’, Trump appeared to rein her in following an icy White House meeting this week.
The internal scrutiny of Noem intensified after the fatal shooting of the 37-year-old ICU nurse, putting her at odds with Trump.
The President grilled Noem over her handling and initial response to the shooting during their late-night meeting, reports say. Noem’s adviser and rumored lover Corey Lewandowski was by her side at the Oval Office summit.
By the end of the night, Noem was ordered to shift her focus away from interior immigration enforcement operations and instead concentrate on securing the Southern Border.
Noem’s longtime rival, White House Border Czar Tom Homan, was ordered by Trump to take over the Minnesota crackdown.
Despite the furor, Noem is expected to keep her job – despite a new Daily Mail/ JL Partners poll finding her approval rating has sunk to just 33 percent.
