Videos quickly surfaced on Saturday showing Fatal shooting of a Minneapolis protester By a Border Patrol agent. Democratic leaders in Minnesota said the footage showed the deadly encounter was the result of untrained federal officers overreacting, and the Trump administration said the man provoked the violence.
This is the second fatal shooting in Minneapolis by federal immigration authorities this month. The first was on January 7 Rene is good. This was also recorded on videos and led to a similar division among political leaders.
On Saturday, around 9 a.m., a Border Patrol agent shot and killed a 37-year-old man. Alex Pretty After an altercation that lasted about 30 seconds. The Trump administration said shots were fired “defensively” against Pretty, who federal authorities said was carrying a semi-automatic handgun and was “violently” resisting officers.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who said he watched one of several videos, said he saw “more than six masked agents beat one of our constituents, shooting him to death.” Frey said Minneapolis and St. Paul are being “invaded” by the administration The largest immigration crackdownWhich was called Operation Metro Surge.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Prete attacked the officers, and Customs and Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino said he wanted to cause “maximum damage and massacre of law enforcement.” In his posts on X, Stephen Miller, President Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff, described Preity as a “potential assassin.”
Bovino said the shooting occurred Saturday as officers were pursuing a man in the country who was wanted illegally on a domestic assault charge. Protesters routinely attempt to disrupt such operations, honking high-pitched whistles, honking horns, and yelling at officers.
Among them was Preeti. In a video obtained by The Associated Press, at one point, Preeti was standing in the street and holding up his phone. He is face to face with an officer wearing a tactical vest, who puts his hand on Pretty and pushes him toward the sidewalk.
Preeti talks to the officer although it is not clear what he is saying.
The video shows protesters wandering in and out of the street as officers insist on trying to respond to them. One protester was handcuffed. Some officers carry pepper spray canisters.
Preity comes up again when the video shows an officer wearing tactical gear shoving a protester. The protester, wearing a skirt over black tights and holding a water bottle, extends her hand to Preeti.
The same officer shoves Pretty in the chest, sending Pretty and the other protester stumbling backwards.
A different video shows Preity moving towards another protester, who falls after being pushed by the same officer. Pretty moves between the protester and the officer and extends his arms toward the officer. The officer deploys pepper spray and Preeti raises his hand and turns away. The officer grabs Preeti’s hand to bring it behind his back, deploys the pepper spray can again and then pushes Preeti away.
Seconds later, at least six federal officers surround Preetai, who is wrestled to the ground and struck several times. Several agents try to put Preeti’s arms behind his back, and he struggles.
The officer hovering over the fray with his right hand on Pretty’s back in one of the videos turns away from the group just before the first shot. In the video obtained by the Associated Press, the same officer is seen walking away, holding what appears to be a gun in his right hand.
After about 20 seconds, the first shot is fired.
The videos do not clearly show who fired the first shot. In one video, seconds before the first shot, an officer reaches for his belt and appears to pull out his gun. The same officer is seen holding a gun to Pretty’s back as three more shots ring out. Preeti falls on the floor. Videos show officers retreating, some holding their rifles. More shots are fired.
The Department of Homeland Security said Pretty was shot after he “approached” Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun. Officials did not say whether Pretty, who is licensed to carry a concealed weapon, brandished the gun or hid it.
A statement from the agency said the officers fired “defensive shots” after Pretty “violently resisted” the officers who tried to disarm him.
Walz expressed his dissatisfaction with the characterization.
“I’ve watched the videos from multiple angles, and it’s disgusting,” he said.
President Donald Trump took to social media by attacking Walz and Frey. Trump shared photos of the gun that immigration officials said was recovered from Pretty and said: “What’s all this about? Where are the local police? Why weren’t they allowed to protect the ICE officers?”