A witness and a pediatrician are contradicting claims made by federal officials following the fatal shooting of a man by a U.S. Border Patrol officer in Minneapolis on Saturday.
In a sworn declaration filed in federal court, a civilian witness described what they said they observed moments before a federal agent shot and killed the man, later identified as 37-year-old U.S. citizen Alex Pretti.
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The shooting occurred amid Operation Metro Surge, a large-scale federal immigration enforcement effort in Minnesota.
"An agent approached and asked us to back up, so I moved slowly back onto the sidewalk," the witness stated. "The man stayed in the street, filming as the other observers I mentioned earlier were being forced backward by another ICE agent threatening them with pepper spray. The man went closer to support them as they got threatened, just with his camera out. I didn't see him reach for or hold a gun."
The witness said the situation escalated when an ICE agent shoved one of the observers to the ground and repeatedly sprayed people nearby with pepper spray.
"Then the man tried to help up the woman the ICE agent had shoved to the ground. The ICE agents just kept spraying," the witness states. "More agents came over and grabbed the man who was still trying to help the woman get up."
The witness said multiple agents then forced the man to the ground.
"I didn't see him touch any of them — he wasn't even turned toward them. It didn't look like he was trying to resist, just trying to help the woman up," the witness states. "I didn't see him with a gun. They threw him to the ground. Four or five agents had him on the ground and they just started shooting him. They shot him so many times."
A nearby resident who is a licensed pediatrician also submitted a sworn declaration, saying he observed much of the encounter from his apartment and went outside after hearing gunshots to try to render medical aid.
"At first, ICE agents wouldn't let me through. They repeatedly asked for my physician's license, which I obviously didn't have," the doctor states. "But none of the ICE agents who were near the victim were performing CPR, and I could tell that the victim was in critical condition."
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The doctor said an agent eventually allowed him to assess the man, who was lying on his side and surrounded by federal officers.
"I was confused as to why the victim was on his side, because that is not standard practice when a victim has been shot," the doctor states. "Checking for a pulse and administering CPR is standard practice. Instead of doing either of those things, the ICE agents appeared to be counting his bullet wounds."
The doctor said he observed at least three gunshot wounds to the man’s back. After asking agents to turn him onto his back, he said he saw an additional gunshot wound to the upper left chest and another possible gunshot wound to the neck.
The doctor said he did not detect a pulse and began CPR until emergency medical crews arrived and took over.
The Department of Homeland Security has defended the officers involved.
"The officers attempted to disarm the suspect but the armed suspect violently resisted," DHS said in a statement.
The statement goes on to say, "Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, an agent fired defensive shots."
Videos circulating online appear to contradict the agency’s account, showing the man on the ground as agents surround him. At least one video appears to show an officer removing a firearm from the man before another officer fires.
Pretti's family has said he owned a handgun and had a permit to carry a concealed firearm.
