Federal agents deploy tear gas and other munitions into a crowd of people near the intersection of 27th Street and Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis after a federal officer shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti. (AP)
US immigration agents fatally shot a 37-year-old US citizen on Saturday, who was identified by local officials as Alex Pretti, triggering fierce protests and condemnations from local leaders as it is the second such incident in Minneapolis this month. Pretti’s family remembered him as “a kind hearted soul” and said that he was an intensive care nurse at a VA hospital.
A bystander footage has captured the moments before Pretti was shot dead by a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis. Conflicting statements have been provided by the state and federal officials of the moments leading to Pretti’s death, which comes over two weeks after Renee Good was shot dead by an immigration agent in the city.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, the incident has been characterized as an attack and the department added that the Border Patrol agent fired in self-defence after Pretti allegedly approached with a handgun and violently resisted attempts to disarm him.
At 9:05 AM CT, as DHS law enforcement officers were conducting a targeted operation in Minneapolis against an illegal alien wanted for violent assault, an individual approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun, seen here.
The videos doing rounds on social media have shown Pretti reportedly holding a phone in his hand, instead of a gun as he tried to help other protesters who were pushed to the ground by federal agents. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has said the account of events from federal authorities is “nonsense” and “lies”.
Demonstrators hold signs during a protest in response to the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minneapolis earlier in the day in Los Angeles. (AP Photo)
Pretti was shot around 9am (local time) on Saturday after a heated conversation between agents and protesters who opposed President Donald Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said at a press brief.
Footage showed that moments after the confrontations, a federal officer with a handgun pointed at Pretti fired four shots in quick succession, a Reuters report stated.
The report added that several more shots could be heard in the footage as another agent appears to fire at Pretti.
Talking about Pretti, his father Michael said, “He cared about people deeply and he was very upset with what was happening in Minneapolis and throughout the United States with ICE, as millions of other people are upset,” AP reported.
Share
Federal agents deploy tear gas and other munitions into a crowd of people near the intersection of 27th Street and Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis after a federal officer shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti. (AP) 
