A preliminary Department of Homeland Security report on the fatal shooting of Minneapolis nurse Alex Pretti does not state that he attacked federal officers or brandished a weapon, contradicting public claims made by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in the aftermath of the incident.
The initial review, prepared by Customs and Border Protection‘s Office of Professional Responsibility and shared with congressional committees, states that during the incident on Jan. 24, an officer repeatedly shouted, “He’s got a gun!” before two federal officers fired their weapons.
The report does not describe Pretti attacking agents or displaying a firearm, despite earlier assertions by DHS leadership that he posed a violent threat, as NBC News reports
Multiple eyewitness videos analyzed by NBC News show that Pretti did not appear to hold a weapon during the struggle as agents surrounded him. One video shows a federal agent removing a gun from Pretti’s waist area moments before shots were fired. The report notes that a Border Patrol agent later secured Pretti’s firearm in a vehicle.
Noem had previously said Pretti arrived at the scene with weapons and ammunition and described his actions as “domestic terrorism,” arguing that officers fired in self-defense. A DHS spokesperson said initial statements were based on early reports from agents at what was described as a chaotic scene and that investigations would determine the facts.
According to the new report, officers were conducting enforcement operations in Minneapolis as part of Operation Metro Surge when they encountered Pretti amid protests and crowd activity. Agents attempted to move civilians out of the roadway and used pepper spray before trying to detain Pretti, who resisted, leading to a struggle and the subsequent shooting.
The incident has intensified scrutiny of federal immigration operations in Minnesota, where protests followed Pretti’s death and the earlier killing of another civilian, Renee Good. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that his administration would “de-escalate a little bit” its operations in the state, describing the shootings as “very unfortunate incidents,” while declining to say whether the officers involved had acted appropriately.
A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration not to alter or destroy evidence after state investigators were initially denied access to the scene. DHS and CBP have launched separate investigations, and the Hennepin County medical examiner has not yet released final autopsy findings.
Originally published on Latin Times
