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.
The report does not specify whether bullets from both officers struck Pretti.
It also does not state that Pretti was “brandishing” a firearm, a claim made publicly by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem following the shooting.
Questions surrounding whether officers discharged Pretti’s firearm during the struggle have circulated since the killing, which was captured on video by bystanders from multiple angles.
According to the DHS report, officers fired only their own agency-issued weapons.
A CNN analysis of available footage found that an officer appeared to remove Pretti’s firearm from his waistband moments before the shooting occurred.
The report states that after the shooting, a Border Patrol agent advised that he had possession of Pretti’s firearm.
“The BPA subsequently cleared and secured Pretti’s firearm in his vehicle,” the report says.
CBP personnel then provided medical assistance to Pretti at the scene.
“CBP personnel cut Pretti’s clothing and provided medical aid to him by placing chest seals on his wounds,” the report states.
The report outlines events leading up to the shooting, including an encounter between a Border Patrol officer and two female civilians.
According to the report, the officer was “confronted by two female civilians blowing whistles.”
The officer ordered the women to move out of the roadway, but they did not comply, the report states.
The officer then pushed both women away, and one of them ran toward a man later identified as 37-year-old Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a U.S. citizen.
Officers then attempted to take Pretti into custody.
“Pretti resisted CBP personnel’s efforts, and a struggle ensued,” the report states.
More than 10 minutes after Pretti was shot, the Minneapolis Fire Department Emergency Medical Services transported him to Hennepin County Medical Center.
Pretti was pronounced dead at approximately 9:32 a.m., according to the report.
CBP investigators were advised that an autopsy would be conducted by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The agency said it will request official findings once the autopsy is complete.
The report represents the first findings from CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility, which investigates potential criminal conduct by CBP officers.
Multiple investigations into the shooting remain ongoing, including probes by DHS Homeland Security Investigations and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
The Department of Homeland Security is examining whether an accidental discharge of Alex Pretti’s firearm may have contributed to the fatal Border Patrol shooting during a federal immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis on Jan. 24, according to officials familiar with the inquiry.
Initial statements from federal officials described Pretti as armed during the encounter, the New York Post reported.
Investigators are now reviewing whether Pretti’s handgun may have discharged unintentionally during a physical struggle, potentially leading agents to believe they were under fire. Officials are analyzing video footage, forensic evidence, and witness statements to determine whether a gunshot occurred before agents opened fire.
“It was 100% an accidental discharge by the agent that relieved that person of their weapon. Because everyone’s guns were out, they think that there’s a shooting,” one source said.
