Alex Pretti Had Broken Rib Week Before Being Fatally Shot By Feds: Report
Alex Pretti, who was fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday, had previously suffered a broken rib about a week before the fatal shooting, according to sources familiar with the incident.
Sources told CNN that Pretti’s rib was broken after a confrontation with federal agents in which Pretti stopped his car upon seeing ICE agents allegedly chasing a family on foot and began shouting and blowing a whistle.
The source said Pretti told them that five federal agents tackled him and one leaned on his back, leaving him with a broken rib, and he was released at the scene.
CNN also reported that Pretti was later given medication consistent with treatment for a broken rib.
A neighbor said Pretti was part of a neighborhood anti-ICE Signal chat, and local participants described a group of about 50 agitators who confronted Border Patrol agents as they were carrying out the arrest of a criminal illegal immigrant on Saturday.
A woman identified as Blair told the New York Post that the gathering of protesters formed after word spread that federal agents were in the area, and she heard gunfire at about 8:30 a.m. before ambulances arrived.
Pretti, 37, was fatally shot by federal officers after resisting arrest while agents attempted to take him into custody, according to a Department of Homeland Security notice to Congress.
Video from the scene captured an officer shouting “gun” before shots were fired, and authorities have said they are reviewing whether a shot may have discharged from Pretti’s firearm after it was removed, potentially leading agents to fire their own weapons.
Two officers — one from U.S. Border Patrol and one from Customs and Border Protection — fired their agency-issued weapons during the encounter, according to DHS reporting.
The DHS report does not clearly state whether bullets from both officers struck Pretti, and it does not support earlier claims by Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem that Pretti was “brandishing” a firearm.
Bystander footage reviewed by news organizations shows an agent appearing to remove a gun from Pretti’s waistband moments before shots were fired, though other footage shows Pretti holding only a phone and no weapon before he was pepper-sprayed and taken to the ground.
Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino said agents attempted to disarm Pretti and that one agent fired defensive shots out of fear for his life and the safety of fellow officers.
Bovino also said Pretti had a nine-millimeter semi-automatic handgun and two loaded magazines, though the agency did not say whether the weapon was brandished during the struggle.
Pretti worked as an intensive care nurse at a Veterans Affairs hospital and was described by some who knew him as deeply committed to helping others and active in protests against federal immigration enforcement.
The fatal shooting has intensified protests in Minneapolis and beyond, and it is the second deadly shooting of a U.S. citizen by federal agents in the city this month.
Federal and local officials are continuing to review body camera footage and other evidence as multiple investigations into the shooting proceed.
Two officers fired their agency-issued weapons during the fatal encounter with Alex Pretti in Minneapolis over the weekend, according to an initial Department of Homeland Security report reviewed by CNN.
The report, prepared by Customs and Border Protection as part of its initial investigation, states that an officer repeatedly shouted, “He’s got a gun,” before shots were fired while agents struggled with Pretti on the ground, CNN reported.
“CBP personnel attempted to take Pretti into custody,” the report states. “Pretti resisted CBP personnel’s efforts and a struggle ensued.”
“During the struggle, a (Border Patrol agent) yelled, ‘He’s got a gun!’ multiple times,” the report adds.
The report says that approximately five seconds later, a Border Patrol agent fired a CBP-issued Glock 19, while a Customs and Border Protection officer fired a CBP-issued Glock 47.
