Federal law enforcement agents shot and killed a man in Minneapolis on Jan. 24 according to local police officials. DHS told Fox News that the man was “armed with a gun”. A video of the shooting appears to show that a gun was taken from the man before the first shot was fired. x.com
Footage taken moments before a struggle shows that the man 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.
Multiple federal agents can later be seen struggling with the man who is shot. One federal agent is seen approaching with empty hands, before reaching around the man’s waist.
Moments before the first shot is fired, this federal agent can be seen retreating with a gun. It appears to match the general appearance of the firearm posted by DHS, including the red dot sight. This agent’s back is turned when the first shot occurs. x.com
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 agent in the black beanie appeared to fire the first shots, as the agent in the brown beanie doesn’t draw his gun until after the first shots are fired.
After the first shots are fired, the man collapses on the ground. Agents back away. At least another 5 shots are fired toward the man who is already incapacitated on the ground.
DHS’ Use of Force Policy, that applies to ICE and CBP agents, states that agents “may use deadly force only when necessary, that is when the [agent] has a reasonable belief that the subject of such force poses an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury” to someone. shorturl.at
DHS released a statement claiming that “an agent fired defensive shots” after an individual approached CBP agents with a gun and “violently resisted” when they attempted to disarm him. DHS claims that he “wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.” x.com
The full video of the shooting can be found here: bsky.app
This is the video. Please be warned: the video is graphic. It shows ICE agents wrestling a man to the ground, beating him, and then shooting him several times.
The incident occurred just over two weeks after the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis. bellingcat.com
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We’ve placed the available videos of the shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis today into the same synchronised timeline and are continuing to analyse further.
A DHS statement claimed “an individual approached US Border Patrol officers” with “a handgun” in the Alex Pretti shooting incident. A Bellingcat analysis of the footage appears to show that a gun was taken away from where Pretti was situated by an agent just before the first shot was fired.
The gun taken by the agent appears to match the general appearance of the firearm shared online by DHS, and which they said was Pretti’s. This agent’s back is turned from the scene with the gun in his hand when the first shot occurs.