An expert has pointed out a ‘significant’ detail in the video of Alex Pretti being shot and killed by ICE agents.
The fatal shooting of the 37-year-old ICU nurse by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis marks the city’s second incident involving federal agents this month.
Pretti, an ICU nurse who cared for American veterans, was reportedly shot ten times by federal officers during what began as him recording their activities with his phone.
It comes just days after another fatal shooting in Minneapolis involving ICE operations.
Renee Good was killed earlier in the year by ICE agent Jonathan Ross, creating an atmosphere of heightened tension in the city.
The back-to-back deaths have prompted widespread outrage and calls for accountability regarding federal immigration enforcement tactics, ignited further as a ‘significant’ detail appears to contradict the official government narrative about what transpired on Saturday morning.
Government claims contradict video evidence
During a news conference on Saturday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claimed Pretti ‘arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement,’ The Guardian reports.
The DHS released a statement asserting that officers attempted to disarm an armed suspect who ‘violently resisted,’ and that an agent fired ‘defensive shots’ while fearing for his life and the lives of fellow officers.
However, Pretti’s parents have issued a scathing response, calling the government’s account ‘sickening lies’ that are ‘reprehensible and disgusting,’ per MailOnline.
They described their son as a kindhearted soul whose last thought was to protect a woman who had been pushed down by agents.
The family emphasized that Pretii was clearly not holding a gun when attacked, but rather had his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand raised above his head while being pepper-sprayed.
Trump speaks out
President Donald Trump has reportedly been reviewing the situation, though according to the Wall Street Journal, he declined to say whether he thought the officer who killed Pretti acted appropriately.
Trump ally Greg Bovino took a different stance, referring to Pretti as ‘the gunman’ who was ‘brandishing’ a weapon and threatening to ‘massacre’ agents.
Pretti was a legal gun owner with a concealed carry permit, though the question of whether he was actually brandishing his weapon at the time has become central to the controversy.
Multiple witnesses have provided sworn testimony stating they did not see Pretti with a gun or attacking agents, with one witness positioned just five feet away describing how he was only trying to help a woman up when agents threw him to the ground and shot him repeatedly.
What happens in the video
Multiple verified videos show that Pretti was using his phone to record CBP officers for over three minutes before the confrontation escalated.
The timeline shows Pretti continuously holding up his phone toward officers as they detained someone nearby, with the interaction beginning at 8:58 a.m., per ABC.
At 9:00 a.m., a federal officer pushed civilians toward Pretti, then pepper-sprayed him when he appeared to raise his hand, possibly to signal he wasn’t a threat.
After being sprayed, Pretti was pulled into the street by his coat hood, where multiple officers pinned him down.
The situation turned deadly when an officer appeared to remove a gun from Pretti’s waist while he was restrained on the ground, with another officer drawing their own weapon.
Ten shots were fired in less than five seconds, with Pretti declared dead at the scene.
‘Significant’ video detail
The most significant detail an CNN video expert has highlighted is the timing of when Pretti’s weapon was removed.
Video footage shows an officer in a grey jacket emerging from the scrum holding a firearm that appears to match Pretti’s weapon, with the officer not carrying a weapon when entering the struggle.
Audio from the scene captured the officer saying ‘I got the gun’ seventy-four seconds after the first shot was fired.
This contradicts the Department of Homeland Security’s statement that Pretti ‘approached officers with a handgun’ and ‘attacked’ them.
Former acting DHS undersecretary John Cohen stated there’s nothing in the video evidence showing Pretti arrived with intent to shoot officers.
Witnesses in sworn testimony said Pretti was holding his phone, not a gun, and was trying to help a woman who had been pushed down, VT reports.
