Questions and outrage grows after federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis
(NBC, KYMA) - Questions and outrage is growing Monday morning after federal agents shot and killed another person in Minneapolis.
On Saturday, agents shot and killed VA hospital nurse Alex Pretti, 37, who appeared to be taking video of an immigration arrest.
As more videos of the shooting emerge, many are questioning the Trump Administration's story about what really happened.
There is a growing outcry over the shooting death of Pretti by federal law enforcement in Minneapolis, the city's second involving federal law enforcement this month.
As protesters react to the multiple videos capturing the scene, the Trump Administration is defending the officers.
The Department of Homeland Security said Pretti "approached U.S. Border Patrol officers with a nine-millimeter semi-automatic handgun."
"When they tried to get him to disengage, he became aggressive and resisted them throughout that process. These officers used their training, followed their protocols, and were in fear of their lives," said DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
The videos, shot from various angles, show federal agents shoving someone before Pretti stepped in.
Pretti was then pepper-sprayed in the face by an agent, while holding his phone, and is then wrestled to the ground.
DHS said he brandished a weapon, but the videos don't appear to show that.
One video does show an agent appearing to remove a gun from Pretti's back waistband seconds before the shots are fired.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) is among the elected officials rejecting the Trump Administration's description of the scene.
"I just keep thinking, 'Your eyes don't lie,'" Sen. Klobuchar remarked.
Local officials say pretti had a permit to carry, and groups like the Gun Owners of America are defending his right to bear arms while protesting as top Trump officials push back.
"You cannot bring a firearm loaded with multiple magazines to any sort of protest that you want. It's that simple," said FBI Director Kash Patel.
Pretti was an ICU nurse for a Minneapolis VA hospital. His parents called him kind-hearted and deeply caring.
"He loved this country, but he hated what people were doing to it," said Susan Pretti, Pretti's mother.
In a post to social media, President Donald Trump is demanding state and local officials cooperate with the administration's deportation efforts as those officials call on ICE to leave the state.
The chances of a partial federal government shutdown later this week are now growing as congressional Democrats vow not to support a DHS spending bill if it does not include changes to impose conditions on immigration enforcement operations.
