Eyewitness video showing at least one federal agent fatally shooting Alex Preti, 37, in Minneapolis appears to refute the Trump administration’s version of events, presenting two very different stories.
Shortly after the shooting, federal authorities said the employees acted in self-defense during a violent altercation Saturday morning. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said Preti “approached U.S. Border Patrol agents with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun,” adding that the officers “attempted to disarm” Preti, who “violently resisted.” President Donald Trump shared a photo of what he said was “the shooter’s gun loaded (with two more magazines!) and ready to go.” White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said Mr. Preti had “attempted to assassinate federal law enforcement.”
But at least four different videos of the encounter, shot by witnesses and reviewed and analyzed by NBC News, contradict some of the administration’s statements. The video does not appear to show Pretti holding a weapon during the skirmish that led to his death. Footage shows him coming to the aid of a man whom federal agents had chased away before the encounter.
Portions of the video also show a federal agent reaching into a skirmish near Pretty and pulling out a gun believed to belong to Pretty just before he was shot. Bovino and Noem said the situation is under investigation. Preeti was a nurse and had a gun permit, local officials said.
Video footage taken by witnesses from various vantage points, including on the street, in a store and in a car, shows Preeti holding a mobile phone and starting an argument with the officers. Nomu declined to say whether Preeti pulled out a gun before she was shot.
The recording begins with Pretti filming an undercover agent conducting an operation on Nicollet Street. Federal officials said officers were on the scene searching for a man wanted in the U.S. illegally in connection with the assault. Preeti is a U.S. citizen, local officials said.
In the video, Pretty is one of several people on the street. Some people are blowing whistles, yelling, and honking their car horns. Preeti, wearing brown pants, a black hooded coat and a black baseball cap, can be seen talking to a police officer at close range in the middle of the street. One of the officers pushed him back toward the curb.
After a while, Preetti walked back out onto the street, holding her cell phone horizontally in her right hand. He drove past, waving at oncoming traffic. He advances towards the policeman who tries to push the others away.
Preeti put her arm around one of those people and led them to the curb. A few feet away, the officer shoved another person, who fell onto a snow-covered curb. Pretty gets between the police officer and the person. A deadly battle begins.
Preeti confronted the officer, who then pulled out what appeared to be a pepper spray canister. Mr. Preeti twisted around and raised his left hand above his head, and the policeman sprayed him in the face and pushed him away.
Preti approached the person on the curb and the officer sprayed him again. Preti appeared to put the cell phone in his right coat pocket, then fell on top of the person and grabbed him. The policeman pulls Preeti over and Preeti clings to a person stopped on the curb. Several more policemen surround Preeti and push him to the pavement.
Officers are shouting during the scuffle. One person appears to be holding an object in his right hand and swinging Preeti’s head around three times. Preeti is seen leaning forward and supporting herself on the pavement with her forearms and hands.
Another police officer in a gray jacket approached the scrum empty-handed and reached for Pretti. Someone said “gun.” A policeman in a black mask standing over Preeti pulls a gun from his holster and points it at Preeti.
A police officer in a gray jacket turns from the scrum with a gun similar to Preeti’s in his right hand. Pretty is on her knees. The first shot rings out. The officer, wearing a gray jacket, trotted away with his gun pointed downwards in his hand. A police officer wearing a black mask moved behind Preeti and three more shots were fired. Preeti falls down and rolls on her back.
DHS asked whose gun the gray-jacketed officer was holding, but could not be reached for comment.
As the officers backed away and Preeti lay still, an additional seven shots were fired. People are screaming at the police in fear. “What on earth did you do?” one woman cries. “oh my god.”
Moments later, police officers were seen kneeling next to Preeti and appearing to render assistance to him. People yell for an ambulance.
Preeti was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.
