Fierce debate has erupted over the killing of Minneapolis nurse Alex Jeffrey Pretti and whether he posed any real threat to Department of Homeland Security officers.Federal officials including Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem insist Pretti, 37, ‘brandished’ his legally-owned handgun at officers trying to detain an illegal migrant on Saturday morning.spokesperson said the 37-year-old nurse was killed after he ‘approached US border patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun.’But videos recorded by multiple bystanders cast serious doubts on those claims, as footage appears to show one agent disarming Pretti a few seconds before any shots were fired.
They showed Pretti standing in the street filming a Border Patrol operation as a small group of anti-ICE protestors blew whistles and shouted.He filmed with a phone held in his right hand; his left hand appeared to be empty.Two women were filmed being forcefully pushed backward by an agent wearing a brown beanie.It is unclear what prompted that altercation.Pretti put his arm around one woman as the agent shoved the other to the floor.He moved to confront the agent, who pushed Pretti away with his left hand and pepper sprayed him with his right, as another agent arrived.Pretti used his left hand to try to block the pepper spray and his right to grab the woman on the floor.Pretti could be seen holding a shiny object aloft in the air. It is unclear if this was his phone or something else, but the officer he was engaging with did not shout ‘gun’ or brandish his own weapon at the sight of it.A chaotic tussle broke out as around six more agents arrived. Pretti was face down on his knees, resisting as the agents pinned him down. The agent wearing a brown beanie struck him in the head with his pepper spray canister.