MINNEAPOLIS — The Department of Homeland Security said federal agents fatally shot Alex Pretti because he was a violent threat during an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis on Saturday, but a lack of evidence is raising more questions.
Public video of the shooting, along with eyewitness accounts and statements from local officials, have not substantiated those claims, raising growing questions about the federal government’s account of the incident.
Pretti, 37, an ICU nurse and Minnesota resident, was shot and killed during a confrontation involving U.S. Border Patrol agents. In the hours after the shooting, DHS officials described Pretti as an “assassin who tried to murder federal agents”.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said agents acted in self-defense after Pretti allegedly advanced toward them armed with a 9mm pistol.
But no video released so far shows Pretti firing a weapon, and multiple witnesses say he was holding a cellphone — not a gun — at the time he was shot.
Video contradicts official narrative
Several videos recorded by bystanders show Pretti standing with onlookers and filming federal agents during the operation. In the footage, Pretti is seen holding a phone in his right hand. At no point in the videos does he appear to raise a firearm or make a threatening gesture toward officers.
Civil rights attorneys and legal analysts say the videos undermine the government’s assertion that Pretti posed an immediate danger.
“There is a significant gap between what federal officials are claiming and what the public evidence actually shows,” said one attorney familiar with the case.
Witnesses dispute claims of violence
Two eyewitnesses have said this directly contradicts DHS’s account.
One witness, who filmed part of the incident, told local officials that Pretti was attempting to help another person who had been shoved by an agent and never displayed a weapon. Another witness, a physician who observed the encounter, said Pretti was not aggressive and appeared to be trying to de-escalate the situation.
“He did not threaten officers,” one witness said, who spoke to FWRD AXIS News on the condition of anonymity.
Family condemns federal statements
Pretti’s family has forcefully rejected DHS’s characterization of their son. In a statement, the family said federal officials were spreading “sickening lies” to justify the shooting.
“The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He has his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down all while being pepper sprayed,” the statement read.
Pretti’s father told reporters the family struggled to obtain basic information in the aftermath of the shooting.
“I can’t get any information from anybody,” he said. “We’re being shut out while false claims are being repeated.”
Calls for transparency grow
Minnesota officials have raised concerns about access to evidence, saying federal agents initially restricted state investigators from the scene. Civil rights groups are calling for the release of all body-camera footage and a fully independent investigation.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said federal agencies operating in the city must meet the same standards of accountability as local law enforcement.
“Our demand is discipline, humanity and integrity,” O’Hara said.
