The DHS investigation into the shooting death of VA nurse Alex Pretti is starting to unfold.
A preliminary report found that two federal agents discharged their weapons in the incident that led to Pretti’s death. Both men have been placed on administrative leave, according to MS Now.
The report, conducted by Customs and Border Patrol’s Office of Professional Responsibility, was sent to several congressional committees on Tuesday, including the House Judiciary Committee and the House Homeland Security Committee. According to the document, one DHS agent yelled “he’s got a gun” several times before “approximately five seconds later, a BPA [Border Patrol agent] discharged his CBP-issued Glock 19 and a CBPO [Customs and Border Protection officer] also discharged his CBP-issued Glock 47 at Pretti.”
The report also contradicted DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s claim that Pretti had brandished his weapon or attempted to attack officers. Multiple eyewitness videos of the incident showed that Pretti did not hold a weapon; rather, his cell phone was in his possession before he was surrounded by agents, and at one point, an agent removed Pretti’s weapon from his person before he was shot.
Pretti’s death, the second at the hands of s DHS agent in the last month, has amplified calls for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to leave the state. Some 3,000 agents are currently in Minnesota, five times the number of officers in the Minneapolis Police Department, as part of “Operation Metro Surge,” a crackdown by the Trump Administration on migrant communities and targeting those committing fraud and local corruption, according to federal authorities.
In the events that came before Pretti was shot, the CBP report said, “Several civilians were in the area yelling and blowing whistles. BPAs and CBPOs made several verbal requests for the civilians to stay on the sidewalks and out of the roadway.”
At one point, an officer says he was “confronted” by two women who were blowing whistles in his direction who did not comply with his request for them to move out of the roadway. After the officer pushed both women away, one of them, according to the report, ran toward Pretti.
The officer then attempted to move both the woman and Pretti out of the way before using pepper spray on both individuals, the report said, adding, “CBP personnel attempted to take Pretti into custody. Pretti resisted CBP personnel’s efforts and a struggle ensued. During the struggle, a BPA yelled, ‘He’s got a gun!’ multiple times.”
In the days that followed Pretti’s death, DHS and the White House have alternated stories, with DHS advisor Stephen Miller suggesting his statement of Pretti wanting to do “maximum damage and massacre law enforcement” came from reports by CBP staff and those on the ground. He likened Pretti to an “assassin” on social media
Noem said her directives came from President Trump and Miller.
“Everything I’ve done, I’ve done at the direction of the president and Stephen,” Noem reportedly said to someone who relayed her comment to Axios. Both Miller and Noem have seen an uptick in calls for their resignations over the handling of “Operation Metro Surge” and ICE’s overall actions across the country.
