Videos of Minneapolis shooting undercut Trump admin claims

On Saturday, Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old critical care nurse and U.S. citizen, was shot and killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis. There’s a big difference between what Americans saw about the shooting and what federal officials told them.

Shortly after the shooting, Department of Homeland Security officials moved to defend the officers involved, claiming that the victim “approached U.S. Border Patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun” and that “the suspect violently resisted” when federal agents attempted to disarm him.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem defended the Border Patrol agent who shot Pretti, saying at a news conference that the agent fired “defensive” shots after the victim violently brandished a gun. “Officers attempted to disarm this individual, but the armed suspect reacted violently,” Noem said.

At a separate press conference, Border Patrol general commandant Greg Bovino claimed Pretti might want to inflict “maximum damage” and “decimate law enforcement.”

However, videos taken by bystanders and shot from different angles tell a different story.

In the first video, verified by CNBC, protesters can be heard honking their horns on a street in Minneapolis; The author of the video records from the windshield of the car while it is moving.

At the 15-second mark, the camera pans left to show a man (believed to be Alex Pretti) on the side of the street wearing a brown jacket and tan pants, facing two federal agents while holding what appears to be a phone.

Pretti backs away from the confrontation while appearing to yell at an agent.

At the 21-second mark, the person shooting the video drives past the shooting and the camera pans to the other side of the street as someone in the car swears.

In the second video, verified by CNBC, protesters can be heard whistling and honking at federal agents on a cold Minneapolis street.

Seven seconds into the video, a man in tactical gear, believed to be a federal agent, is seen pushing a woman in a brown jacket and black tights onto her back near the edge of the street. It doesn’t fall, but it moves a few meters away due to being pushed.

The camera pans briefly to the middle of the street before returning to the shooting next door at the 11-second mark. The agent is confronted by a woman wearing a long cream-colored coat and charcoal pants. Next to him is a man in a brown jacket and tan trousers, believed to be Pretti, and next to him is the woman in a brown jacket and black tights who was pushed seconds ago.

At 12 seconds into the second video, the agent pushes the woman in the cream-colored jacket to the ground. Pretti places himself between the agent and the woman lying on her back in the roadside snowbank.

At the 14-second mark, the agent begins spraying a chemical substance on Pretti’s face. Pretti covers his face and turns his back to the officer. Other agents wearing vests approach the conflict.

At 22 seconds, several agents struggle with Pretti and try to knock him to the ground. He appears to have fallen to the ground, and at the 28-second mark you see him punch an agent in the head while Pretti is on the ground.

Meanwhile, people around are recording and whistles are constantly making noise.

At 38 seconds in, at least six agents appear to have restrained the man, believed to be Pretti, on the ground.

An agent appears to grab a gun from Pretti and quickly walks away while holding the gun. At the 40th second, a gunshot is heard. It is not yet known whether the person holding the gun fired or not. After the first shot, more gunshots are heard in rapid succession.

In the third video, confirmed by CNBC and taken by someone on the street near the incident, protesters blow their whistles at federal agents.

At the 25-second mark, a man wearing a brown jacket and tan pants, believed to be Pretti, raises his hand in the middle of the street. He waved to a car and then started walking. The camera then pans towards the snowbank for a moment. One protester asked, “What’s your problem?” He can be heard shouting.

At 33 seconds into the third video, Pretti has his arm around a woman in a dark green jacket and black tights, seemingly trying to help her. He steps in front of a federal agent who approaches a woman lying on her back in a roadside snowbank.

At the 40-second mark, Pretti reaches out to a federal agent who sprays him with some type of chemical agent. Two agents pull him onto his back and more agents form a circle around the man in tan pants. A struggle ensues where six agents surround the man in the tan pants.

At the 60-second mark, one of the agents is seen stepping back from the confrontation and drawing his gun and pointing it at Pretti.

At 1:01, a single gunshot can be heard, followed by several gunshots in rapid succession. Pretti, the man on the ground, collapses.

Another gunshot can be heard amidst the screams at 1:04.

In none of the three videos shown here do DHS Sec. Noem and others in the Trump administration.

A video also shows a federal officer removing his gun from Pretti as he was restrained by agents on the ground before any shots were fired.

Pretti is a legal gun owner and has a permit for his gun.