Daily London
Two US immigration officers involved in the deadly shooting of a protester in the country’s Midwest have been placed on leave, officials say.
Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse, was shot and killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Sunday morning (AEDT) when he approached federal officers who were allegedly targeting a woman on a street.
His death, which followed the fatal shooting of another female demonstrator by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent earlier this month, triggered outrage across the US.
A spokesperson for the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT) told 9news.com.au that agents involved in the shooting had been placed on administrative leave.
“The two officers involved are on administrative leave and have been since Saturday,” they said in a statement.
“This is standard protocol.”
Meanwhile, new details about the fatal shooting have been received by US legislators.
Two federal officers fired shots during the encounter that killed Pretti over the weekend in Minneapolis, a CBP official told the US Congress in a notice sent on Tuesday.
Officers tried to take Pretti into custody and he resisted, leading to a struggle, according to a notification to Congress obtained by The Associated Press.
During the struggle, a Border Patrol agent yelled, “He’s got a gun!” multiple times, the official said.
A Border Patrol officer and a CBP officer each fired Glock pistols, the notice said.
Investigators from CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility conducted the analysis based on a review of body-worn camera footage and agency documentation, the notice said. The law requires the agency to inform relevant congressional committees about deaths in CBP custody within 72 hours.
Separately, a man was arrested after he sprayed an unknown liquid at US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar while she was speaking at a town hall meeting in Minneapolis.
The Democrat politician had just called for the abolishment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign when she was sprayed.
NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.
