On Saturday, Alex Preti, 37, an intensive care unit nurse and American citizen, was shot and killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis. There is a huge gap between what Americans saw about the shooting and what federal authorities told them.
Immediately after the shooting, Homeland Security officials rushed to the defense of the officers involved, claiming that the victim “approached a U.S. Border Patrol agent with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun” and that “the suspect violently resisted” when federal agents tried to disarm him.
In a press conference, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem defended the Border Patrol agent who shot and killed Preti, saying the agent fired a “defensive” shot after the victim flailed the gun. “Officers attempted to disarm this individual, but the armed suspect reacted violently,” Noem said.
In a separate press conference, Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino claimed that Mr. Preti may have wanted to do “maximum damage” and “massacre of law enforcement.”
But videos taken by witnesses from different angles tell a different story.
In the first video reviewed by CNBC, protesters can be heard honking on the streets of Minneapolis, while the video’s creator records a car driving through the windshield.
At the 15-second mark, the camera pans to the left to show a man (possibly Alex Preti) wearing a brown jacket and tan pants holding what appears to be a telephone as he confronts two federal agents on the side of the road.
Preeti backed away from the confrontation, seemingly yelling at the agent.
At the 21-second mark, the person filming the video drives past the crash scene and the camera swings to the other side of the road as someone in the car yells profanities.
In a second video reviewed by CNBC, protesters can be heard blowing whistles and honking at federal officers on a cold Minneapolis street.
At the seven-second mark in the video, a man wearing tactical gear, believed to be a federal agent, can be seen shoving a woman wearing a brown jacket and black leggings in the back near the side of the road. She didn’t fall, but the shove sent her a few feet away.
The camera briefly moves to the center of the road and returns to the side showdown in 11 seconds. The agent is confronted by a woman wearing a long cream-colored jacket and charcoal pants. Next to her is a man who appears to be Preti wearing a brown jacket and tan pants, and next to that is a woman who was shoved a few seconds ago wearing a brown jacket and black leggings.
At 12 seconds into the second video, the agent pushes a woman wearing a cream-colored jacket to the ground. Preeti places herself between the agent and a woman lying on her back in a snowbank by the road.
At 14 seconds, agents begin spraying chemicals in Pretti’s face. Preeti covered her face and turned away from the policeman. Other agents wearing vests also approach the confrontation.
At the 22 second mark, several agents struggle with Pretti and attempt to wrestle him to the ground. He appears to fall to the ground, and at 28 seconds, one of the agents is seen swinging a punch to his head while Preeti falls.
At this point, a bystander is recording and the whistle is constantly blaring.
By 38 seconds, at least six agents appeared to have a man believed to be Preeti restrained on the ground.
One of the agents appeared to take Preeti’s weapon and quickly walked away, still holding the gun. Gunshots are heard in 40 seconds. It is unclear whether the gunman fired any shots. Following the first shot, more gunshots are heard in quick succession.
A third video reviewed by CNBC was filmed by someone on the street near the incident, showing protesters blowing whistles at federal officers.
At the 25-second mark, a man who appears to be Preti wearing a brown jacket and tan pants appears in the middle of the road holding his hands up. He waved his car past, then started walking. The camera then moves away for a moment to the snowman. Protesters can be heard shouting, “What’s going on?”
At the 33-second mark in the third video, Preti puts his arm around a woman wearing a dark green jacket and black leggings, clearly trying to help her. He stepped in front of federal agents closing in on a woman lying on her back in a snowbank on the side of the road.
At the 40-second mark, Pretti can be seen waving his hand over a federal agent who is spraying him with some type of chemical. Two agents drag him onto his back, and more agents form a circle around the man in tan pants. A struggle ensues on the ground, with six agents surrounding a man wearing tan pants.
At the 60 second mark, one of the agents is seen backing away from the confrontation, pulling out a gun and pointing it at Preti.
At 1:01, a single gunshot is heard, followed by several shots in quick succession. Preeti, the man on the ground, falls down.
Amidst the screams, another gunshot was heard at 1:04 am.
At no point in the three videos shown here did Alex Pretti brandish a weapon or threaten federal immigration officials before the confrontation began. Mr. Nomu and others in the Trump administration.
One video also appears to show federal agents removing a weapon from Preti, who was being restrained by officers on the ground, before the gun was fired.
Preeti is a legal gun owner and has a weapons license.
