Daily London
Warning: This story contains images and details that some readers may find distressing.
In the footage, a man identified as Pretti is seen holding an object that appears to be a phone and getting in between the woman and an ICE agent when the woman is pushed to the ground.
As he tries to help the woman to her feet, he is sprayed with a substance, potentially pepper spray, by an agent before being tackled and pinned to the ground.
The vision shows an agent striking Pretti whilst he is on the ground.
As Pretti and the woman are separated, an agent draws a pistol and fires several shots whilst Pretti is face down on the ground.
Pretti was shot, and died at the scene.
The Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed the ICE agent was acting in self-defence after “fearing for his life”.
“The officers attempted to disarm the suspect but the armed suspect violently resisted,” she claimed, despite subsequent videos appearing to show Pretti making no aggressive actions towards federal officers.
Despite the White House’s strong stance and continued deployment of ICE agents in Minnesota, some Republicans and members of the DHS have criticised the measures being taken.
“The events in Minneapolis are incredibly disturbing,” Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy wrote in a post on X.
“There must be a full joint federal and state investigation. We can trust the American people with the truth.”
Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, in a post on X, wrote Pretti’s killing “should raise serious questions within the administration about the adequacy of immigration-enforcement training and the instructions officers are given on carrying out their mission.”
Frustrations are also building within DHS, as officials shared videos of the incident among themselves over the past day, fuelling widespread concern and fury over the handling of the shooting.
“The department needs a law enforcement leader, not a sycophant,” one Homeland Security official told CNN.
Some US Border Patrol agents on the ground in Minneapolis are also beginning to feel unconvinced that being in the city is productive enough to justify the risk of being placed in tenuous situations, according to a former senior Border Patrol official.
