Two federal law enforcement officers shot their firearms during a shooting in Minneapolis that ended with the death of 37-year-old Alex Pretti, according to a Department of Homeland Security report provided to members of Congress.
The document, which summarizes early findings from DHS’s Office of Inspector General and agency reviews, states that the shooting involved personnel from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It marks the most detailed federal account to date of the confrontation, though it stops short of making conclusions about whether the agents’ actions were justified.
According to the report, CBP officers were conducting operations near a roadway when they encountered a group of people in the street. An officer attempted to clear the area, pushing two women who were blowing whistles and ordering them to move. One of the women then approached Pretti, a U.S. citizen and intensive care nurse, drawing the attention of officers.
The report says an officer used pepper spray on both Pretti and the woman as agents tried to move them out of the roadway. A physical struggle followed as officers attempted to detain Pretti. During the struggle, a Border Patrol agent can be heard on body-worn camera footage shouting that Pretti had a gun.
Within seconds of that warning, the report states, a Border Patrol agent fired a CBP-issued Glock 19, and a CBP officer also discharged a Glock 47. The report does not specify how many shots were fired or whether both agents’ rounds struck Pretti.
After the shooting, an agent reported taking possession of a firearm believed to belong to Pretti. The DHS summary does not detail when the gun was secured or whether it was in Pretti’s hands at the moment shots were fired.
Officers provided emergency aid at the scene, including applying chest seals, before Minneapolis Fire Department medics transported Pretti to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The DHS report does not address videos posted online by bystanders that appear to show Pretti either unarmed or no longer holding a weapon immediately before the gunfire. Those videos have fueled public scrutiny and prompted lawmakers to press federal agencies for greater transparency.
Several members of Congress have called for a full and independent investigation, questioning the circumstances under which federal agents were operating and how quickly the encounter escalated. DHS officials have said the investigation is ongoing and that no final determinations have been made.
For now, the report provides a clearer timeline of events but leaves unresolved central questions about the use of force in a case that has drawn national attention.
