A new Border Patrol report says that two agents fired the ten shots at Alex Pretti that killed him and does not mention the gun owner taking out his gun.
Pretti, 37, was shot dead in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Saturday during a targeted immigration enforcement operation.
Following the shooting, DHS and Border Patrol officials portrayed Pretti as an instigator who ‘brandished’ a weapon at officers.
However, a new government report that was sent to Congress on Tuesday claims that while an officer shouted that Pretti had a gun, it does not mention Pretti having taken it out.
Investigators from CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility conducted the analysis based on a review of body-worn camera footage and agency documentation, the notice said.
The agency is required to report in-custody and certain other deaths involving its agents and officers to Congress.
Officials said that at around 9am Saturday, CBP agents were faced with several protesters ‘yelling and blowing whistles’ at the officers, while also blocking the roadway at the intersection of 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue.
After making ‘several verbal requests’ for the protesters to stop, CBP claims two women confronted the agents while blowing whistles. They were ordered to get out of the roadway but refused.
A new Border Patrol report says that two agents fired the ten shots at Alex Pretti that killed him and does not mention the gun owner taking out his gun
Pretti, 37, was shot dead in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Saturday during a targeted immigration enforcement operation
They said that the women were then ‘pushed away’ and one of the ran to Pretti, with both again refusing to leave the roadways.
The officer then deployed pepper spray at both of them, while attempting to arrest Pretti.
‘CBP personnel attempted to take Pretti into custody. Pretti resisted CBP personnel’s efforts and a struggle ensued,’ the report claims.
‘During the struggle, a (Border Patrol agent) yelled, ‘He’s got a gun!’ multiple times.’
The report continues: ‘Approximately five seconds later, a (Border Patrol agent) discharged his CBP-issued Glock 19 and a (Customs and Border Protection officer) also discharged his CBP-issued Glock 47 at Pretti.’
Within five seconds, one agent and one officer discharged the shots, with one using a Glock 19 and the other a Glock 47.
An agent took possession of Pretti’s gun and cleared and secured it shortly after the shooting.
CBP tried to save Pretti’s live by putting chest seals on his wounds at 9:02am, with EMS and EMTs arriving three minutes later.
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Pretti was seen facing off with federal agents before being shot. His family claimed he was ‘clearly not holding a gun’, while federal officials have alleged he was ‘brandishing’ a firearm
A gun shot perforation in a window pane can be seen in a window in front of a makeshift memorial for Alex Pretti
Pretti was taken in an ambulance to Hennepin County Medical Center at 9:14am, where he was pronounced dead at 9:32am.
A DHS investigation is ongoing and The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General has been notified.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Border Patrol and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
Kristi Noem, the Homeland Security Secretary, claimed after the shooting that officers ‘clearly feared for their lives.’
She said the agents fired defensive shots at Pretti after he ‘violently’ resisted their instructions.
Noem also claimed Pretti was ‘brandishing’ the firearm and suggested Pretti was a domestic terrorist in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.
Gregory Bovino, the US Border Patrol commander-at-large, said Pretti planned to ‘massacre’ federal agents when he was killed.
Minneapolis police said Pretti had no serious criminal history and was a lawful gun owner with a valid permit.
Kristi Noem, the Homeland Security Secretary, claimed after the shooting that officers ‘clearly feared for their lives’
Gregory Bovino, the US Border Patrol commander-at-large, said Pretti planned to ‘massacre’ federal agents when he was killed
On Monday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were investigating the shooting.
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) was also conducting an internal review of the fatal incident.
Leavitt also said she had ‘not heard’ US President Donald Trump ‘characterize’ Pretti as a domestic terrorist.
DHS officials have maintained that Pretti approached the officers with a loaded 9mm semiautomatic handgun.
However, witness videos from the scene appeared to show Pretti holding his phone up to the agents – not a gun.
He was captured filming agents with his device as they arrested a female protester, before suddenly being tackled to the ground.
Footage suggested that one officer took Pretti’s weapon from his waistband and walked away with it just moments before he was killed.
Pretti was the second person killed this month by a federal officer in Minneapolis.
He was shot dead just over a mile from where Renee Good, 37, was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer on January 7.
