The parents of 37-year-old Alex Pretti, the Minneapolis VA nurse who was fatally shot by federal immigration agents in south Minneapolis on Saturday, have issued a statement praising their “kindhearted” son and slamming the “sickening lies” they say members of the Trump administration are spreading.
Pretti died after being shot multiple times by Customs and Border Protection agents on Nicollet Avenue South and East 26th Street Saturday morning.
Here’s the full statement from Michael and Susan Pretti:
“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 at the Minneapolis VA hospital.
“Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately he will not be with us to see his impact. 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 by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He has 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. Thank you”
What we know about Alex Pretti, the man killed by federal agents in Minneapolis
After Pretti’s killing, Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem and other Trump administration officials alleged that Pretti approached agents with a gun, with Noem saying he wanted to “inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement.”
Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy and Homeland Security advisor, called Pretti a “would-be assassin” who “tried to murder federal law enforcement,” also referring to him as a “domestic terrorist.”
Videos by bystanders show the claims by the Trump administration are riddled with falsehoods. Footage shows that Pretti approached agents with a cellphone in one hand and the other hand empty.
At the time he was tackled by agents, he was trying to help another woman who stumbled after being pushed by a CBP agent, and was holding his other hand in the air.
Department of Veterans Affairs
Pretti was allegedly armed with a semi-automatic pistol, though Minneapolis police say he was a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry — and no criminal history.
No footage provided thus far show any obvious attempt Pretti made to reach for the weapon, with videos actually suggesting one federal agent removes a gun from Pretti’s waist area while other agents had him pinned on the ground after pepper-spraying him.
The first shots from federal agents appear to have been fired after the gun had been removed from Pretti’s possession at 9:03 a.m. Bring Me The News had a reporter at the scene and video revealed approximately 10 gunshots during the encounter.
Để lại một bình luận