Saturday morning on Jan. 24, Minneapolis resident, and 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti was fatally shot and killed by Border Patrol agents.

Pretti was seen assisting two women who were pushed by an unnamed officer. Soon he was maced, surrounded, and pushed to the ground by six agents. Seconds later, Alex was shot multiple times and died from his injuries.

This marks the second fatal shooting in Minneapolis this month. This incident occurred just weeks after an ICE agent shot and killed mother and wife Renee Good in a separate confrontation earlier in January.

Many Americans nationwide are outraged by what they view as excessive and harmful actions by immigration enforcement officers, actions that government officials continue to defend. 

Regardless of your political position, this second shooting should be alarming to all Americans. Border Patrol and ICE agents are threatening U.S citizens and impulsively using excessive force, which have resulted in the injuries and deaths of fellow Americans.

Federal agents must adopt de-escalation practices to prevent deaths like those of Renee and Alex. The constant footage of federal agents assaulting, injuring, and murdering U.S citizens reflects a failure to prioritize lawful procedures over excessive force. 

Analyzing the The Shooting of Alex Pretti

While the failures of the federal agents are clear, understanding exactly what happened on Jan. 24 requires a closer look at the sequence of events and the decisions made on the ground.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem made a public announcement regarding the Minneapolis shooting, stating that Alex was “brandishing” a weapon and that “an individual approached U.S border patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun. The officers attempted to disarm this individual, but the armed suspect reacted violently.”

This could not be further from the truth. 

Alex was originally recording Border Patrol agents before anything escalated. He was performing his first amendment right, and no agent should have interfered with that. 

The 37-year-old was seen helping two women after they were pushed to the ground by a border patrol agent. Even after helping the women that were near the officer, at no point did Alex solely challenge the agent.

After the scuffle between the three residents and the federal officer, Alex was quickly met with mace, getting sprayed directly in the face for multiple seconds. He was then blinded by the spray, tackled down, surrounded, and beaten by six agents before being shot — it had been reported about 10 shots were heard.

Yes, it is true that Alex was armed, however there was no moment where he “brandished” his weapon or acted “violently” toward any officers. 

Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino also made a public announcement regarding the Minneapolis shooting. Both Bovino and Secretary Noem stated that the agents “attempted to disarm” Alex, however video footage clearly showed an unnamed agent disarming the 37-year-old nurse. It happened immediately before a second officer approached and shot Alex in what appears to be his back.

Out of all the videos that have surfaced online, there is not one that could be found showing the violent behavior that Kristi Noem, and others alike described. As expected, there was no justification for the death of Alex Pretti.

Alex Pretti in his last moments was attentive, caring, and patriotic. And what happened to him should initiate accountability and change in the way federal agents interact with the community.

Hopefully the ongoing terror and tragedy in Minneapolis and other cities around the country comes to an end soon. Another name does not need to be added to the list of victims by the hands of federal agents.