Trump Administration and Critics Clash Over Nursing Shooting Incident Amid Immigration Crackdown

Trump administration officials have characterized Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse who was fatally shot by federal agents during an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis, as an armed threat. However, video footage reviewed by The Associated Press appears to contradict key elements of their account.

The shooting occurred during a confrontation between protesters and federal agents conducting operations as part of President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement initiative. The incident has intensified the already heated debate over federal immigration tactics in cities with sanctuary policies.

President Trump quickly weighed in on social media after the shooting, sharing images of a gun that immigration officials said was recovered from Pretti. “What is that all about? Where are the local Police? Why weren’t they allowed to protect ICE Officers?” Trump wrote.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified during a Monday briefing that she had “not heard the president characterize” Pretti as a domestic terrorist, despite Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem suggesting that characterization a day earlier. She also distanced the president from deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller’s use of the term “assassin” to describe Pretti.

Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino told reporters Saturday that federal officers fired defensive shots after Pretti “approached” with a 9mm semiautomatic handgun. Noem repeatedly stated that Pretti “came with a weapon and dozens of rounds of ammunition and attacked” officers who took action to “defend their lives.”

But bystander video appears to tell a different story. The footage shows Pretti with only a phone in his hand in the moments before and during the confrontation. No public footage has emerged showing him brandishing a weapon at officers.

The video sequence shows Pretti stepping between an immigration officer and a female protester after the officer shoved the woman. Pretti appears to be holding only his phone as he reaches his hands toward the officer. The officer deploys pepper spray, causing Pretti to turn his face away and raise an empty hand. After a brief struggle, several officers force Pretti to the ground.

While Pretti is pinned down, someone is heard saying, “gun, gun.” An officer then appears to pull a handgun from Pretti’s waist area and begins moving away. At this point, a Border Patrol officer fires the first shot, followed by a brief pause, then several more shots into Pretti’s back. Officers back away as Pretti lies motionless on the street.

Pretti was legally licensed to carry a concealed weapon, according to records.

Bovino claimed that Pretti “violently resisted” when agents tried to disarm him. Noem echoed this account on Fox News, saying officers tried to get Pretti to disengage, but he “became aggressive and resisted them throughout that process.”

The Border Patrol commander further alleged that Pretti was there “to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement,” language that was repeated in a Department of Homeland Security statement by spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin. Noem emphasized Saturday that Pretti “wasn’t there to peacefully protest. He was there to perpetuate violence.”

The seven-minute video obtained by the AP shows Pretti as one of many protesters on the street that morning. The protesters can be seen holding up phones, apparently recording officer activity while shouting at officers. At one point, Pretti is visible talking to an officer who pushes him back to the sidewalk, though what Pretti is saying is unclear.

Trump framed the incident as resulting from “Democrat ensued chaos” in social media posts Sunday. He called on Minnesota officials to work with immigration officers and “turn over” undocumented immigrants. The president also claimed there had been a coordinated “cover up” to distract from alleged fraud cases in state government programs, accusing Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey of “inciting Insurrection.”

The Trump administration filed a lawsuit in September against Minnesota, Minneapolis, and St. Paul over their so-called sanctuary policies that federal officials claim interfere with immigration enforcement authority. Minneapolis and St. Paul restrict how their law officers and employees can cooperate with immigration enforcement.

Governor Walz has rejected the characterization of Minnesota as a sanctuary state while criticizing the administration’s operation as a “campaign of organized brutality.” After the shooting, both Walz and Frey highlighted the thousands of Minnesotans who had protested peacefully the previous day.

“We want calm and peace and normalcy back to our lives. They want chaos,” Walz said. “We cannot and we will not give them what they want by meeting violence with violence.”