Two U.S. Customs and Border Protection/Border Patrol agents who fired their weapons during a deadly confrontation with Alex Pretti have been placed on administrative leave, Fox News has learned.
The move is standard procedure and should not be viewed as any suspicion of wrongdoing, the Department of Homeland Security said. The agents are no longer on field duty, for now.
Pretti, a Department of Veterans Affairs ICU nurse, was shot and killed Saturday by Border Patrol agents while recording federal immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis.
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Video footage appeared to show him attempting to help a woman knocked down by agents, when he was sprayed with an irritant, pushed to the ground and beaten.
The footage showed an agent pulling Pretti’s suspected gun, a 9 mm pistol, from his waistband before other agents fired nearly a dozen shots in his direction.
One Border Patrol agent fired his CBP-issued Glock 19, and a second officer fired his CBP-issued Glock 47.
Before the shooting, agents were conducting operations as civilians in the area were yelling and blowing whistles, officials said. Authorities told the civilians to stay on the sidewalk to prevent them from impeding law enforcement actions.
Officials said Pretti “resisted” when authorities tried to take him into custody and a struggle ensued.
During the struggle, an unidentified Border Patrol agent yelled, “He’s got a gun!” multiple times, according to the report.
The deadly shooting was the second in Minneapolis amid heightened tensions between federal immigration authorities and anti-ICE agitators. Many have been seen following law enforcement and impeding their operations.
Renee Nicole Good was shot and killed earlier this month by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent when, officials said, she tried to ram him with her vehicle after refusing to get out.
Amid escalating tensions, President Donald Trump sent border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis, where he met with local officials. In addition, Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino and an unspecified number of agents will be leaving Minnesota.
Fox News Digital’s Alex Koch contributed to this report.
