Official portrait of Alex Pretti in 2024 (as a licensed nurse with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs)
The images show Pretti insulting the officers, who pinned him to the ground. The two police officers involved in the death were suspended pending investigations into the case.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported that two agents involved in the shooting of a U.S. citizen in Minneapolis were removed from their duties.
O murder of Alex Prettia 37-year-old intensive care nurse, on Saturday sparked new protests in the state of Minnesota, public outrage across the US and calls from representatives of both parties for the removal of the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
According to a preliminary DHS report sent to Congress, two agents fired their weapons at Pretti during a physical struggle. Initial official reports claimed that Pretti had drawn his gun.
It is not clear when the officers were removed, nor how long they will remain off work.
CBP told the BBC on Tuesday that it has removed the agents from their duties following standard protocol. Typically, federal agents involved in shootings stay away while the incident is investigated.
On Sunday, CBP commander Gregory Bovino told the press that agents continued to work, but in another city.
New images released by News Movement and shared with BBC News show a confrontation between Pretti and federal agents 11 days before his death.
appears to shout insults at officersmaking gestures to spit and kicking a car’s tail light. Federal agents exit the vehicle and immobilize it on the ground. A gun is visible on his waist.
In response to the recently released video, Steve Schleicher, attorney for the Pretti family, told CBS News: “A week before Alex was shot to death on the street, despite not pose any threat to anyonewas violently attacked by a group of ICE agents. Nothing that happened a week earlier could justify Alex’s death at the hands of ICE on January 24th.”
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent who shot another US citizen, 37-year-old Renee Good, in Minneapolis on January 7 has also been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.
Although President Donald Trump said in recent days that he intended to “de-escalate” the situation in Minneapolis, where the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been carrying out Operation Metro Surge since December 1, he appeared to intensify his exchange of barbs with the city’s mayor on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey wrote in X that his city would not change its sanctuary city policieswhich limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, and who had told Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, that “Minneapolis does not and will not enforce federal immigration laws.”
In response, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: “Could anyone in your closest circle explain that this statement is a very serious violation of the law and that Are you PLAYING WITH FIRE?!”
Another Minneapolis leader who, like Frey, demanded that immigration agents leave the city — Congresswoman Ilhan Omar — blamed Trump on Wednesday for the increase in threats against her after during a public event on Tuesday night.
The man accused of approaching her and throw an unknown substance at him was charged with third-degree assault, police said. According to Alpha News, the syringe allegedly used in the attack by the suspect, Anthony Kazmierczak, was filled with apple cider vinegar. The BBC is trying to confirm the information.
Omar, the first Somali-American congresswoman, stated at a press conference that “every time the President of the United States chooses to use hateful rhetoric to talk about me and the community I represent, the death threats I receive skyrocket.”
