2 federal agents involved in the shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis have been placed on leave
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Two federal employees involved in Saturday’s fatal shooting of a US citizen in Minneapolis have been placed on administrative leave, according to a spokesman for US Customs and Border Protection.
The spokesman said in an email to CBC News that this action was normal, and that they had been on vacation since Saturday when the incident happened.
Video taken from multiple angles shows immigration agents shooting Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse at a veterans hospital, multiple times. His death was the second fatal incident between Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and US citizens in Minnesota this month, sparking outrage across the country.
US Customs and Border Protection said it is reviewing the shooting.
US government officials say ICE agents shot and killed Alex Pretti at a Minneapolis protest because he had a gun on him and, according to US President Donald Trump’s homeland security adviser Stephen Miller, ‘could have been a killer.’ Andrew Chang breaks down several video angles of the shooting, moment by moment, to understand how accurate the government’s first account is. Photos provided by The Canadian Press, Reuters and Getty Images
The US government’s initial review of Pretti’s shooting does not indicate that he fired a gun, despite initial statements by Trump administration officials highlighting the weapon.
A preliminary review by US Customs and Border Protection said Pretti was shot by two police officers, a Border Patrol agent and a custos, after he refused to leave the road following the order of the customs officer.
In the hours after Pretti’s killing on Saturday, senior Trump administration officials identified the ICU nurse as the perpetrator, claims that were quickly contradicted by video from the scene.
The US Department of Homeland Security said he “went to US Border Patrol agents with a 9-mm automatic pistol,” but did not say whether the weapon was seized. .
White House aide Stephen Miller – the driver of Trump’s immigration agenda – called Pretti a “domestic terrorist” and one who would “kill” without presenting evidence to support the allegations.
The CBP review, conducted by the agency’s Office of Professional Practice and shared with lawmakers on Tuesday, is a routine process and shared with members of the US Congress to promote transparency, said CBP spokesman Hilton Beckham.
Beckham said the notices “provide a preliminary outline of the event that occurred and do not convey any specific conclusion or findings of the investigation.”
Details in the initial review reinforced the disconnect between how Trump officials portrayed the shooting and the video evidence.
