Alex Pretti did not brandish gun, witnesses say in sworn testimony | Minneapolis
Two witnesses to the killing of Alex Pretti said in affidavits that the 37-year-old intensive care nurse did not brandish a gun when he approached federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday; This contradicts Trump administration officials’ claim that they tried to portray the shooting of a prone man as an act of self-defense.
Their accounts came in affidavits filed in federal court in Minnesota late Saturday, just hours after Pretti was killed. a case A lawsuit filed by the ACLU on behalf of Minneapolis protesters against Kristi Noem and other homeland security officials directing an immigration crackdown in the city.
One of the witnesses is a woman who shot the clearest video of the fatal shooting; the other is a doctor who lives nearby and said they were initially prevented by federal officers from providing medical aid to the gunshot victim.
The names of both witnesses have been redacted in public filings.
Inside his expressionThe woman, who captured the shot wearing a pink jacket right behind Pretti, described herself as “a children’s entertainer who specializes in face painting”. He stated that he arrived at the scene on his way to work because “I got involved in monitoring in my community because it’s so important to document what ICE is doing to my neighbors.”
He described the heartbreaking scene in which Pretti was tackled by federal officers after he came to the aid of another observer who the agents pushed to the ground. A federal agent then sprayed chemicals in the faces of Pretti and the woman he was trying to help.
The woman testified that she saw no sign of Pretti holding a gun at any point.
He said: “The agents pulled the man to the ground. I didn’t see him touch any of them, he didn’t even turn towards them. He didn’t look like he was trying to resist, he was just trying to help her up. I didn’t see him with the gun. They threw him to the ground. Four or five agents pinned him to the ground and started shooting. They shot him so hard… I don’t know why they shot him. He was just helping. I was five meters away from him and they just shot him…
He continued: “I read DHS’s statement about the incident, it is wrong. The man did not approach the agents with a gun. He approached with a camera. He was just trying to help a woman get up, and they forced her to the ground.
“I’m scared. It’s only been hours since they shot a man in front of me, and I don’t think I can go home because I heard the agents looking for me. I don’t know what the agents will do when they find me. I know they’re not telling the truth about what happened.”
The second witness, a 29-year-old doctor, said: their testimonies He said they saw the shooting from the window of their apartment near the scene. The witness said they could see Pretti yelling at the agents before the shooting, but “they did not see him lunge at the agents or wave any weapons.”
When the doctor tried to provide medical aid following the shooting, they were initially prevented from doing so. “At first the ICE agents wouldn’t let me through,” they said. “However, none of the ICE agents near the victim were performing CPR, and I could see that the victim was in critical condition. I insisted that the ICE agents allow me to evaluate him.”
When the doctor finally convinced the agents to let them pass, they said they were confused as to why the victim was on his side, but the officers “appeared to be counting the gunshot wounds” rather than checking his pulse or performing CPR.
The doctor said the victim had “at least three gunshot wounds to his back,” in addition to a gunshot wound to his upper left chest and a possible gunshot wound to his neck.
“I checked his pulse, but I didn’t feel it,” the doctor said.
The witness statements, combined with video evidence reviewed by the Guardian, directly contradict claims by senior Trump administration officials, including the president, the homeland security secretary and border patrol commander Greg Bovino, who described Pretti as a “gunman” who approached federal officers “brandishing” a gun and threatened to “slaughter” them.
