Reactions have been strong after 37-year-old Alex Pretti was shot dead by federal border police in Minneapolis on Saturday during an operation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Just like in the case of mother of three Renee Nicole Good, analyses of images and video from the incident contradict information from federal authorities.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says the shots were fired in self-defense against an armed Pretti who was violently resisting. Governor Kristi Noem accuses Pretti of domestic terrorism, and the White House has posted a picture of what it claims is the weapon on Twitter .
According to The New York Times (NYT), which reviewed clips from the seconds before the shooting, Pretti was not holding a weapon in his hand - but a cell phone.
Supposed to have taken weapons
The fatal shooting occurred at about 9 a.m. local time on Saturday. According to videos, a federal agent pushed protesters away from the street during an ICE operation. In the clips, Alex Pretti is seen filming with his cell phone and trying to intervene as the agent pushes a woman to the ground.
Pretti was pepper-sprayed and surrounded by seven officers. He was then knocked to the ground, where he was held and punched several times. Just before the shooting, one of the officers was heard shouting, "He has a gun."
A CNN analysis shows what appears to be a police officer taking a gun from Pretti's waistband and moving away from the commotion. Just over a second later, another officer points his gun at Pretti's back and fires a shot.
It is not clear whether officers had time to inform others that an officer had taken the gun before Pretti was shot.
At least ten shots
According to several American media outlets, it is also not clear who fired the first shot, but two of the agents reportedly shot Pretti several times while he lay motionless on the ground.
At least ten shots appear to have been fired within five seconds, reports NYT.
Alex Pretti, who worked as an IVF nurse, had no previous convictions, had a weapons license and, under Minnesota law, the right to carry a weapon in public.
The shooting is the third in three weeks in Minneapolis involving ICE and has led to major protests in the city.
