An expert has offered his opinion on a detail that might provide a clue as to why Alex Pretti was shot dead by Border Patrol agents on Saturday, January 24.
Less than a month after the killing of 37-year-old mother Renee Good sparked uproar across the U.S., another U.S. citizen has been killed in a seemingly completely avoidable incident.
Pretti, an ICU nurse who regularly helped U.S. military veterans, tangled with ICE agents on Saturday and was pepper sprayed and restrained before being shot multiple times at close range.
ICE have been a constant presence in Minneapolis over the past few weeks, seeking to round up individuals suspected of being in the U.S. illegally. Frequent clashes with protesters has escalated tensions, while the aforementioned shooting of Renee Good on January 7 was met with dismay by millions.
Sadly, this past weekend saw another apparently innocent citizen involved in an unnecessary fatal shooting. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem accused Pretti of brandishing a gun at federal agents, starting that he ‘wanted to do maximum damage’ and ‘massacre law enforcement’.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump took to social media, describing Pretti as a gunman and sharing a picture of the firearm that was taken from him.
Now, as in the aftermath of the shooting of Good, video footage has since emerged appearing to counteract those initial claims. Pretti, it’s reported, had a permit to carry a gun, while the firearm itself was taken from his holster by Border Patrol agents before he was fatally shot.
One such video shows the nurse attempting to protect two women, with only a phone visible in his hand.
The fact that Pretti was carrying a firearm has not been disputed, and an expert has now weighed in on why the handgun might have accidentally led to the nurse’s death.
Rob Doar, a lawyer for the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, has suggested that Pretti’s firearm might have gone off accidentally after the agent took it, leading to another agent opening fire as he thought they were under attack.
On X, he wrote: “I believe it’s highly likely the first shot was a negligent discharge from the agent in the grey jacket after he removed the Sig P320 from Pretti’s holster while exiting the scene.”
Again, video footage suggests that the fatal shots that killed Pretti were needless since he had already been disarmed and was restrained on the floor.
In light of the Trump administration labeling the 37-year-old a threat to ICE officers, his family released a statement slammed the “sickening lies”.
“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,” they said.
“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.
“Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man.”
