CRAIG LASSIG/EPA
People gather for an evening vigil in Whittier Park, just blocks from the site where Alex Pretti was shot to death by federal agents in south Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Another controversial death at the hands of ICE. “We recognize that there is a lot of anger, but please don’t destroy our own city”, appeals the local police chief. ICE action compared to conflict zones in Iraq and Ukraine.
The man killed this Saturday by federal agents in Minneapolis, in the United States, was a “37-year-old white man”, resident of the city and apparently “a North American citizen”, announced the local police chief.
At a press conference, Brian O’Hara indicated that the police received “a report of a shooting” at 9:03 local time (six hours in Lisbon) in the south of the city, involving anti-immigration police (ICE) agents.
The police did not receive any information from the federal authorities, but the person responsible referred to a video that is circulating on social media, which shows several men with their faces covered and with the inscription “Police” on their clothes knocking down a man, before shooting several times, adding: “The video speaks for itself” and confessing:“We believe he is a US citizen”these.
The police officer also indicated that, when police arrived at the scene, they found “an adult man with multiple gunshot wounds”, who was receiving “resuscitation maneuvers”, but who was pronounced dead at the Hennepin County Medical Center, where he was transported by ambulance.
Asked about statements from the Department of Homeland Security that the man was armed, O’Hara reiterated that he had no official accounts of the events.
“What I can say is that we identified this person, a 37-year-old white man, resident of the city. The only interaction we are aware of with law enforcement was for traffic tickets, and we believe he is a legal gun owner with a license to carry a weapon.”, he added.
The police chief added that an “illegal gathering” remained at the scene of the incident, calling on people to “avoid the area and get out of there”.
“We recognize that there is a lot of anger and a lot of questions about what happened, but we need people to remain peaceful. (…) We ask everyone to remain calm and, please don’t destroy our own city“, he emphasized.
At the same press conference, the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey (Democrat), once again called for federal agents to leave the city, as he has done since an ICE member killed the US citizen on January 7.
“How many more lives will have to be lost before this administration realizes that a political and partisan narrative is not as important as American values”, he asked, stressing that “this is not a partisan issue, it is an American issue”.
Addressing the President of the United States, he asked: “How many times do local and national leaders have to beg you, Donald Trump, to end this operation and recognize that this is not creating security in our city?”
On Friday, he recalled, 15,000 people protested “peacefully”, without “a single broken window, a single injury” being recorded.
“On the other hand, a massive militarized force and unidentified agents occupy our streets. This is what weakens our country. This is what erodes trust both in the security forces and in democracy itself”, he lamented.
Minneapolis Department of Emergency Management Director Rachel Sayer reported that local officials have made “numerous resources available to community members,” such as food assistance, housing and rental support, legal support or mental health help.
“I cannot emphasize enough how much ‘Operation Metro Surge’ is having an impact on our city,” he said, referring to the anti-immigration operation launched last December by the federal government in Minnesota, which President Donald Trump justified on the grounds of an increase in crime.
Describing his professional experience in international humanitarian response in conflict zones, in Yemen, Haiti, Syria, Iraq and Ukraine, he reported: “What I saw here is what I saw there: a powerful entity, which violently and intentionally terrorizes people”.
“In these times, we see both the best and the worst. The worst is the terror and the feeling of impotence. The best is, and will continue to be, our community’s response”, he defended.
It should be remembered that the (United States Department of Defense headquarters), announced on Friday, considers its new priority not to be the Chinese threat, nor even the Russian one, but rather the resolution of the “borders invaded by narco-terrorists” and “expulsion of illegally staying foreigners”.
