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Body language expert reveals chilling three words 'man in jeans' shouted before ICU nurse Alex Pretti was killed in second fatal ICE shooting
The fatal shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti by federal agents during an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis has gripped national attention — and now, a body language expert has added new scrutiny to a chilling moment caught on camera.
Dr. John Paul Garrison, a forensic psychologist with over half a million YouTube subscribers, released a video analysis on Sunday, dissecting footage from the January 24 shooting.
He focused on one officer in particular — the man in jeans — who appears to shout a key phrase that, in Garrison’s view, may have played a pivotal role in what happened next.
Pretti, 37, was working as a nurse with the Department of Veterans Affairs. He was known to be a licensed gun owner, and reports confirm he was holding a phone in the moments before the shooting.
Multiple videos now being reviewed by authorities do not show a weapon in his hands when officers initially approached him.
The man in the jeans yells as the gun is taken
In his video, Garrison walks viewers through the critical seconds before shots were fired. He slows the footage down to highlight the behavior of two officers — one in a gray jacket who appears to pull a gun from Pretti’s waistband, and another in jeans standing nearby.
“The second he pulled the gun out, you heard somebody yell gun,” Garrison notes.
He continues: “I do believe the man in the jeans is the one that yelled, ‘Gun, gun, gun.’ I’m not positive of that… but I think that as he saw the gun getting removed by the officer in the gray jacket, he just saw a gun and started yelling ‘gun, gun, gun,’ and drew his own.”
According to Garrison, the way the officer in jeans moves — shuffling, appearing off-balance — suggests a panic response. He emphasizes that the yelling of “Gun, gun, gun” seemed to follow the weapon being taken from Pretti, not before.
“That was the first time we heard the word ‘gun’ yelled,” Garrison says. “Now this officer in the jeans has his hand on his own gun and he is getting ready to draw.”
Videos raise serious questions about timing and threat
Pretti’s shooting marked the second fatal encounter involving ICE-linked operations in Minneapolis this month.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, agents were attempting to detain Pretti when he resisted and displayed a firearm. DHS maintains that an agent fired “defensive shots” fearing for officers’ safety.
But footage now under internal review paints a more complicated picture. Pretti is seen holding a phone and recording officers. As agents struggle with him, one officer reaches toward his waistband and appears to pull out a gun. The shots are fired almost immediately after.
In the aftermath, another brief exchange was caught on audio. One officer is heard asking, “Where’s the gun?” — words now at the heart of growing public scrutiny, as they suggest uncertainty about whether the weapon had already been secured at the time shots were fired.
Pretti’s family strongly disputes the government’s version of events. In a statement, they said: “Our son was not threatening anyone. He was holding his phone and filming. The video shows this clearly.” They’ve called for a full investigation and release of all body camera footage and communications.
Federal officials have said they are reviewing all video evidence. No agent has yet been publicly identified as having fired the fatal shots.