The interaction that ended in the death of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday morning began at least three minutes earlier when Pretti appeared to be using his phone to record CBP officers,according to videos reviewed and verified by ABC news.
Minutes later, Pretti was pinned on the street by multiple federal agents — visibly being hit by one of them — when one of the officers can be seen leaving the struggle wiht what appears to be a gun.
Those videos appear to contradict, at least in part, claims by federal officials that Pretti “approached U.S. Border Patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun” and “attacked” officers carrying out immigration duties.
Another video shows the officer in the gray jacket emerging from the scrum, holding a firearm that appears to match Pretti’s weapon.
AP
While Pretti seems to have been pinned on the street by officers, one of the agents is seen in multiple verified videos emerging from the scrum with a handgun that appears to match the weapon federal officials say Pretti was carrying. Before the first shot is fired,another agent can be seen drawing his own handgun,while another repeatedly hits Pretti.
In total,10 shots were fired in less than five seconds,according to a forensic audio analysis of the videos. Pretti was declared dead on the scene.
“What the videos depict is that this guy did not walk up to anybody from CBP in a threatening manner,” said former acting DHS undersecretary for intelligence John Cohen, a police trainer and ABC News contributor. “For [DHS] to construe that he arrived at that location with the intent to shoot those border patrol officers, there’s nothing in the video evidence that we’ve seen thus far that would support that.”
seconds before the first shot is fired,alex Pretti holds a phone before a federal officer on nicollet Ave in Minnesota.
Obtained by ABC News
8:58:22 a.m. — A second federal officer carrying a canister of pepper spray approaches Pretti,who continues to hold up his phone.
8:58:29 a.m. — One federal officer appears to push Pretti towards the sidewalk.
8:59:08 a.m. — Another eyewitness begins recording the incident, showing Pretti continuing to lift his phone towards officers, as they appear to detain someone in the street.
8:59:24 a.m. — pretti is seen lifting a phone towards the officers as they move a detainee into a nearby vehicle.
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:44 a.m. – The individual who was pushed appears to hold onto Pretti as the federal officer approaches them.
The officer uses pepper spray on Pretti, and Pretti appears to raise his hand towards the officer to get between the officer and the person with the backpack. Kayla Schultz 9:00:53 a.m. — The officer pepper-sprays the other two civilians again. 9:00:54 a.m. — After being sprayed, Pretti appears to fall into the person with the backpack and possibly grab that person to stabilize himself. 9:00:56 a.m. — The federal officer appears to pull Pretti into the street, appearing to tug him by the hood of his coat. 9:01:02 a.m. — Three officers hold down Pretti, while another group of officers surrounds Pretti. According to ABC News contributor and former acting DHS undersecretary Cohen, the officers do not appear to be following the tactical steps to control and arrest Pretti. “This just seemed to be a free-for-all, and they didn’t seem to have any 9:01:13 a.m. — One of the federal officers appears to remove a gun from Pretti’s waist that seems to match the handgun federal officials said he was carrying. 9:01:14 a.m. — Another video shows the officer in the grey jacket emerging from the scrum,holding a firearm that appears to match Pretti’s weapon. The video of the officer entering the scrum did not show the agent carrying a weapon. Three cameras capture the moment. twenty-nine seconds after the first shots were fired, an officer approached Michael Pretti, who sustained multiple gunshot wounds.A sworn affidavit from a physician who treated pretti at the scene details at least three bullet wounds to his back,one wound to his upper chest,and a possible wound to his neck. The details come from documentation of the incident, offering a timeline of events following the initial gunfire. The physician’s affidavit provides specific details regarding the nature and location of Pretti’s injuries as observed during immediate medical attention.
Officer Encountered Wounded Pretti 29 Seconds After Initial Shots
