A key detail has been spotted in the shocking footage that shows 37-year-old Alex Pretti being shot by ICE agents in Minneapolis.
Pretti was shot several times on the street by the federal immigration officers, causing widespread outrage.
Alex Pretti was killed by ICE agents on Saturday
Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, was reportedly a legal gun owner with a concealed carry permit.
However, it is unclear whether he was brandishing a weapon at the time of his death.
Since his shooting - which occurred just days after the killing of Renee Good in the same city by ICE agent Jonathan Ross - a number of video perspectives have emerged, and the debate around whether the force used by the agents was justifiable continues to rage on.
Pretti’s parents have since released a statement directly criticizing the ‘sickening lies’ that they believe have been told by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Trump administration.
In their statement, the DHS said: “The officers attempted to disarm the suspect but the armed suspect violently resisted.
“Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, an agent fired defensive shots.”
In response to that statement and others made by those close to the US government, the Pretti family said: “We are heartbroken but also very angry. “Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse…”
“I do not throw around the hero term lightly.
“However, his last thought and act was to protect a woman.”
“The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting.”
“Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked…
“He had his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down, all while being pepper sprayed.”
“Please get the truth out about our son.
“He was a good man.”
One specific detail has stood out to people after watching the video
One key detail to emerge from the various video perspectives on the incident - as mentioned in that statement - is that Pretti appeared to be holding his phone at the time before he was shot, not a gun.
At one stage he raises his hand to block himself from what appears to be pepper spray, but he cannot visibly be seen to be violent or threatening to the officers.
There is also some question around whether he had already been disarmed at the time of the shooting, and that officers only realized he had been armed after he was on the ground, which would contradict the official account released.
In a sworn testimony, witnesses said that Pretti was not holding his weapon at the time of the incident.
One woman said: “The agents pulled the man on the ground.
“I didn’t see him touch any of them – he wasn’t even turned toward them.
“It didn’t look like he was trying to resist, just trying to help the woman up.
“I didn’t see him with a gun.
“They threw him to the ground. Four or five agents had him on the ground and they just started shooting him.
“They shot him so many times,
“I don’t know why they shot him. He was only helping. I was five feet from him and they just shot him.”
She continued: “I have read the statement from DHS about what happened and it is wrong.
“The man did not approach the agents with a gun.
“He approached them with a camera. He was just trying to help a woman get up and they took him to the ground.
“I feel afraid.
“Only hours have passed since they shot a man right in front me, and I don’t feel like I can go home because I heard agents were looking for me.
“I don’t know what the agents will do when they find me.
“I do know that they’re not telling the truth about what happened.”
The second sworn account stated that they ‘did not see him [Pretti] attack the agents or brandish a weapon of any kind’.
This testimony is directly at odds with the words of Trump ally Greg Bovino, who referred to Pretti as ‘the gunman’ and said he was ‘brandishing’ a gun and threatening to ‘massacre’ the agents.