Minneapolis Protest After Man’s Shooting: Trump’s Response & Witness Account
High tension returns to Minneapolis. A federal agent shot and killed a man. Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old American citizen, was an intensive care nurse at the Department of Veterans affairs.According to the US government, the man approached armed and with opposed intentions, but videos appear to contradict the version of federal officials. “Let our Ice patriots do their job” Trump wrote on Truth. The victim’s family: ‘Repugnant lies from the government’. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has asked Trump to end these operations. Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey has requested assistance from the National Guard, while thousands in the city attended a vigil for the victim; protest demonstrations also in New York and Washington.
in a sworn statement, an anonymous eyewitness who recorded the shooting video states that he did not see Alex Pretti with a gun before he was shot by ICE agents. This is reported by the Guardian, citing a document published by the American Immigration Council, a non-governmental association for the defence of migrants’ rights.The witness states that Pretti was trying to help a woman who had been pushed to the ground when he was grabbed by other ICE agents. He did not appear to resist, he says: “I didn’t see him with a gun. They threw him to the ground and started shooting him.”
The type of weapon that the Department of Homeland Security says Pretti was carrying when he was shot by ICE agents is a Sig Sauer P320 9mm, a “popular gun and frequently carried by the US military and law enforcement”. This is written by the Minnesota Star Tribune, pointing out that although Pretti had a gun permit, it has not yet been proven that the weapon shown in an image published on social media by the Department was actually his.
The Minneapolis newspaper also notes: “Federal agents, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), also carry P320s, as do many state and local law enforcement officers.”
Family members have identified the victim: he is Alex Jeffrey Pretti, 37, an intensive care nurse at the Department of Veterans Affairs, a person who deeply cared for others and was troubled by the crackdown on immigration imposed by President Donald trump in his city. He was passionate about outdoor activities and loved adventures with Joule,his beloved Catahoula Leopard dog,also rece
Protests have erupted in Minneapolis,the site of Alex Jeffrey Pretti’s death,and in solidarity in Manhattan. At the intersection of Nicollet Avenue and W 26th Street,south of downtown,demonstrators chant ”ICE out of Minneapolis” while waving American flags and handmade signs. Further along Nicollet Avenue, crowds are paying tribute at the spot on the sidewalk where the 37-year-old was killed.In Manhattan, hundreds of protesters gathered in union Square and marched, some carrying signs reading “abolish ICE” and “stop ICE terror.”
Video analyzed by the New York Times appears to contradict federal officials’ accounts of the Minneapolis tragedy. According to those officials, Alex Jeffrey Pretti approached Border Patrol agents with a gun and intent to “massacre” them. However, the footage shows Pretti intervening between a woman and an agent spraying her with pepper spray. Other agents then spray Pretti, who is holding a phone in one hand and nothing in the other, and subdue him. the video shows his weapon was only discovered after he was immobilized on the sidewalk.
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has reaffirmed the Trump administration’s support for the Border Patrol agent involved in the fatal shooting in Minneapolis, attributing duty for the incident to the victim, Alex Pretti, and describing his behavior as “violent” before he was killed.
Noem stated during a press conference at FEMA headquarters in Washington that “an individual approached U.S. Border Patrol agents with a 9mm semiautomatic pistol. the agents attempted to disarm this individual, but the armed suspect reacted violently. Fearing for their lives and the lives of their colleagues, an agent fired defensive shots.” Noem said Pretti was “pronounced dead at the scene,” noting he had two magazines with ammunition containing dozens of rounds and carried no identification. according to Noem, “it appears to be a situation where an individual came onto the scene to inflict maximum harm on people and to kill law enforcement.”
Video The march in Minneapolis against ICE defies the cold
Agenzia ANSA
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