Two federal agents who were part of the incident that led to the fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen in Minneapolis on Saturday have been placed on administrative leave, as confirmed by a representative from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The spokesperson mentioned in an email to CBC News that this action follows standard procedure, with the agents being on leave since the occurrence of the fatal shooting over the weekend.
Video footage captured from various perspectives shows immigration agents firing multiple shots at Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse at a veterans’ hospital. His tragic death marked the second fatal confrontation between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and U.S. citizens in Minnesota this month, sparking widespread attention nationwide. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has stated that they are currently conducting a review of the shooting incident.
Pretti’s parents have sought legal representation from a former federal prosecutor associated with the George Floyd case. Steve Schleicher, a partner at the law firm Maslon in Minneapolis, who played a crucial role in assisting Minnesota’s attorney general in securing a murder conviction in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the police officer involved in George Floyd’s death.
Schleicher is representing Michael and Susan Pretti on a pro bono basis, according to a spokesperson for the family. Following the death of Pretti, which occurred after the shooting of Renee Good, a Minneapolis resident, by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer on January 7, Good’s family has engaged the services of the Chicago-based firm Romanucci & Blandin, which previously represented Floyd’s family.
The circumstances surrounding Pretti’s death have been subject to initial portrayals by Trump administration officials, depicting Pretti as the aggressor. Despite holding a legal permit for the handgun he was carrying, videos of the incident suggest that one officer disarmed him prior to the involvement of two other officers who opened fire. Notably, the initial U.S. government assessment of the shooting did not mention Pretti brandishing a firearm, contrary to early statements by Trump administration officials emphasizing the presence of the weapon.
A preliminary examination by U.S. Customs and Border Protection indicated that Pretti was shot by two federal officers, a Border Patrol agent, and a customs officer, after he allegedly disobeyed an order to vacate the street issued by a customs officer. Following Pretti’s death, high-ranking Trump administration officials swiftly labeled the ICU nurse as an aggressor, a narrative that was promptly refuted by on-site video evidence.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security reported that Pretti had approached U.S. Border Patrol officers with a 9-mm semi-automatic handgun, without specifying that the weapon was holstered. White House aide Stephen Miller, a key figure in shaping Trump’s immigration policies, went as far as labeling Pretti a “domestic terrorist” and a “would-be assassin” without substantiating these claims with evidence.