The videos contradict the claim that the man killed in Minneapolis threatened officers with a gun.
The US Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the border patrol that fired the shots, is preventing state authorities from investigating the incident.
BarcelonaNew videos posted on social media, and verified by several US media outlets such as New York Times They contradict the official version of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security regarding The shooting death of a 37-year-old white man this Saturday in Minneapolis by Border Patrol agents empowered by Donald Trump. An incident that has once again shocked this northern US city. Just over two weeks ago A woman was also killed. in that same town by immigration agents.
The public's reaction was swift. Despite temperatures reaching -21 degrees Celsius, hundreds of people took to the streets peacefully to pay tribute to the slain man and to demand an end to police violence in a city where the U.S. government maintains a presence of some 3,000 federal agents.
The man killed was Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse at a veterans' hospital with no criminal record. The Department of Homeland Security claimed that Pretti approached Border Patrol agents with a 9mm semiautomatic pistol and that the officers shot him when they attempted to disarm him. However, video footage filmed by several witnesses and shared on social media clearly shows that Pretti was holding a cell phone, not a gun, before the agents tackled him and fired ten shots. The incident occurred around 9:00 a.m. local time near Nicollet Avenue in South Minneapolis.
The video is chilling. It shows a small group of protesters in the street whistling to alert neighbors about the presence of federal agents conducting raids against immigrants, while Pretti records the scene with his cell phone. Then the agents begin pushing the activists and pepper-spraying them; the 37-year-old nurse steps between the police and a woman to try to protect her, while continuing to record with his phone, and the police rush in.
The woman screams in despair as half a dozen officers force Pretti to his knees, grab his legs, push him, repeatedly punch him, and knock him to the ground. Then the footage becomes somewhat blurry. You can hear the police officers shouting that the man has a gun, continuing to hit him, and then you hear the gunshots as the nurse lies motionless on the ground. Ten shots in just five seconds, at very close range.
Gun license
Pretti had a license to carry a firearm, which is legal in the state of Minnesota, where Minneapolis is located. Furthermore, he had no criminal record—only a few parking tickets. However, the U.S. government has portrayed him as a terrorist, although there is currently no evidence to support this claim. Specifically, the head of the Border Patrol, Gregory Bovino, who in recent months has led multiple raids against immigrants that have resulted in lawsuits against him, has justified the nurse's actions by saying he "violently resisted" and that the agents had to shoot "in self-defense." Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended this same version at a press conference. She asserted that the man "attacked the agents"—which is not seen in any of the videos of the incident—and that he was about to draw his weapon. "This individual arrived armed with weapons and ammunition to disrupt a federal law enforcement operation and commit an act of domestic terrorism," were his exact words. Regarding the weapon, US President Donald Trump posted a photo on Saturday on the social network Truth Social of a pistol that he said belonged to the slain man. This same image was also released by the Department of Homeland Security, which stated that the nurse was carrying two magazines. Obstacles in the investigation
However, Drew Evans, head of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehensions, has denounced that federal agents prevented state investigators from inspecting the crime scene, demanding a search warrant before they could do so—something Evans considers completely unheard of given the circumstances. Once the federal agents left the scene of the shooting, state agents were also unable to collect any evidence because protests had already filled the streets.
Federal authorities clarified that the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees both the Border Patrol and ICE immigration agents, will lead the investigation into the incident, with assistance from the FBI. In other words, the same agency that was involved in the incident will be investigating it. And for them, the conclusion is already clear: the man who was killed is guilty. The Border Patrol, as its name suggests, is responsible for border security, but currently assists immigration agents in conducting raids in cities like Minneapolis.
All of this has further enraged Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat, who spoke personally with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles on Saturday to demand the withdrawal of federal agents from Minnesota and to assure her that the authorities will be in charge. However, neither of these demands has yet materialized.
Even the National Rifle Association, the largest gun rights lobby in the United States, and other similar groups that typically support Trump have demanded an investigation into the incident and questioned statements made by some Republican officials. For example, the words of California Assistant Attorney General Bill Essayli, who stated, "If you approach law enforcement with a gun, there is a very high probability that they are legally justified in shooting you." Or the statements of FBI Director Kash Patel, who said in a Fox News interview, "You cannot carry a loaded firearm with multiple magazines at any kind of protest. It's that simple." The Gun Owners of America lobby group reminded everyone in a statement that "the Second Amendment [to the Constitution] protects the right of Americans to bear arms while protesting." Former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, also broke their silence and, exceptionally, released a statement on Sunday calling the nurse's death a "devastating tragedy." "It should be a wake-up call for all Americans, regardless of party, because many of our fundamental values as a nation are increasingly under attack," they also emphasized in the statement. "How many more Americans must be killed or seriously injured before this occupation ends?" asked Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, also a Democrat. Trump, however, reacted by accusing both the mayor and the governor of Minnesota of inciting an insurrection and preventing "patriots" from doing their job. In fact, Attorney General Pam Bondi has already sent a letter to the governor rebuking him and other Democratic leaders for supporting those who are outlawing the law.