Disturbing video footage capturing the fatal shooting of intensive care nurse Alex Pretti by a border force agent in Minneapolis has been subjected to intense global examination. The incident, which unfolded outside Glam Doll Donuts on 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue, has ignited a fierce dispute between official accounts and eyewitness testimony.
Contradictory Narratives Emerge from the Scene
The United States Department of Homeland Security has asserted that its agent discharged defensive shots after Mr Pretti allegedly approached officers while brandishing a 9mm semi-automatic handgun. Authorities have labelled him a domestic terrorist, stating the officers feared for their lives and had no alternative but to open fire.
However, multiple witnesses and newly analysed video evidence starkly contradict this version of events. Observers insist Mr Pretti was holding a mobile phone camera, not a firearm, casting serious doubt on the DHS's claim that he presented an immediate, lethal threat to the agents.
Stabilised Footage Reveals Pivotal Sequence
A critical piece of evidence, a video that has been slowed and stabilised for clarity, appears to depict a different sequence. The footage shows an officer, identifiable by a grey jacket and pink-rimmed baseball cap, reaching into the back waistband of Mr Pretti's trousers and removing a handgun. This agent is then seen walking away from the struggle holding the weapon.
Amid the ensuing confusion, another agent is heard asking, Where is the gun? Almost instantly, a different officer draws his firearm and fires directly into Mr Pretti's back. Approximately ten shots ring out as agents spring back, leaving Mr Pretti motionless on the pavement. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Violent Detention Preceded the Shooting
The clip begins after Mr Pretti, a nurse at the Veterans Affairs hospital, had already been pepper-sprayed and forced to his knees. Four masked DHS agents are seen wrestling him to the floor before two others join in, punching him as they struggle to restrain his arms and legs, pinning him face-down on the concrete.
A separate video provides further context, showing Mr Pretti standing in the road with his phone moments earlier. After a woman in a white coat is shoved into the snow, he steps in to shield her, which is when he is sprayed and subsequently wrestled to the ground by the officers.
Witnesses and Family Decry Official Account
The DHS maintains that officers rushed to administer first aid, a claim disputed by a paediatrician who witnessed the aftermath from his nearby apartment. The doctor alleges the agents appeared to be counting his bullet wounds instead of performing CPR.
Furthermore, a woman in a pink coat who was next to Mr Pretti provided sworn testimony, stating, I didn't see him with a gun. They threw him to the ground. Four or five agents had him on the ground and they just started shooting him.
Mr Pretti's family have issued a powerful statement condemning the US government's framing of his death. The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting, they said, branding the agents involved as murdering and cowardly thugs. They pleaded, Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked. Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man.
The officer responsible for the shooting is reported to be an eight-year Border Patrol veteran, though his identity has not been publicly released. As the harrowing footage circulates worldwide, it fuels profound questions about the use of lethal force and the credibility of official narratives in high-stakes law enforcement encounters.
