Multiple videos from different angles are blowing holes in the Department of Homeland Security’s account of a fatal Border Patrol shooting in Minneapolis.
Footage reviewed by multiple news organizations—and synchronized by open-source investigators—shows a sequence of events that contradict DHS claims that the man killed posed an immediate armed threat.
Even so, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem insisted when speaking to the press that the shooting was justified, declaring that the shooting victim “arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage and kill law enforcement,” and branding him a “domestic terrorist” before any independent investigation had been completed.
The man killed was Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, registered nurse, and licensed gun owner. He was shot and killed Saturday morning by Border Patrol agents during a federal immigration operation.
According to DHS, Pretti approached agents “with a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun” and resisted when officers attempted to disarm him, a characterization federal spokespeople have used to justify the shooting.
But multiple videos uploaded to social media and verified by outlets including The New York Times, the Minnesota Star Tribune, and The Guardian, show Pretti holding what appears to be a cellphone, not a weapon, in the moments before he is tackled and shot.
At least 10 shots can be heard after he is already pinned to the ground.
DHS’s narrative is further eroded by independent video analysis. Open-source investigators at Bellingcat placed the available footage into a single, synchronized timeline, writing on Bluesky: “Footage taken moments before a struggle shows that [Pretti] was filming, holding a phone in his right hand, backing up. His left hand is up, visible, palm facing out, as he backs away from the area. An agent uses his right hand, on the torso of the victim, pushing him back, while the man complies.”
In another post on the same Bluesky thread, Bellingcat added: “Two different agents are visibly firing their guns, with at least 10 shots being heard in total. Most of them are fired after a brief delay, when the man is already lying motionless on the ground. The current videos of the shooting only show these two agents with guns drawn.”
The killing has further inflamed tensions in Minneapolis, where federal immigration operations have already drawn sustained protests.
State officials said federal agents blocked Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigators from accessing the shooting scene, forcing the agency to obtain a search warrant to examine a public sidewalk.
Federal officials say DHS will lead the investigation with assistance from the FBI—a move Minnesota leaders have criticized, calling for an independent inquiry instead.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey accused the Trump administration of escalating violence without transparency.
“How many more residents, how many more Americans, need to die or get badly hurt for this operation to end?” he said.
The shooting comes less than three weeks after another Minneapolis resident, Renee Good, was fatally shot by an ICE officer and similarly labeled a “domestic terrorist” before video evidence raised questions about that account.
DHS has been contacted for comment.
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