Agents who shot at nurse Alex Pretti are suspended

United States.- The United States Department of Homeland Security confirmed this Wednesday the suspension of the Border Patrol agents involved in the shooting in which nurse Alex Pretti died, which occurred in the city of Minneapolis, in the state of Minnesota. The Undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin, confirmed the measure in statements to Europa Press and explained that it is the “standard procedure” after the Department indicated in a report sent to Congress that two agents shot at Pretti.

Although McLaughlin did not specify how many agents were suspended, NBC News indicates that the measure affects those two officers. According to the information, around eight Border Patrol agents surrounded Pretti while trying to subdue him.

According to the report sent to Congress, a scuffle occurred between Pretti and law enforcement. In the midst of the incident, one of the officers present shouted on several occasions that the nurse was carrying a weapon.

You can also read: Who was Alex Jeffrey Pretti? the citizen in Minnesota

The document details that “approximately five seconds later, a Border Patrol agent fired his ‘Glock 19’ and an agent from the Customs and Border Protection also fired his ‘Glock 47’ at Pretti”. Michael and Susan Pretti, the victim’s parents, maintain that their son “did not have a weapon in his hand” at the time of the events, but rather a cell phone. “He had the phone in his right hand and his left hand free, trying to protect the woman that ICE had just thrown to the ground, while he was being sprayed with pepper spray,” they recounted. For its part, the Department of Homeland Security states that the nurse, 37 years old, was armed with a pistol and two magazines. ICE agent actions in Minnesota have sparked protests, especially following the death of Pretti and Reneé Good on January 7th, also shot by federal agents, in addition to the detention of a five-year-old child. The National Rifle Association (NRA) recalled in a statement that, even if Pretti had carried a weapon, the Constitution prohibits law enforcement officers from shooting armed citizens if they do not pose an imminent threat.

Source: El Vocero