The Department of Homeland Security has denied that ICE officers were seen ‘counting bullet wounds’ on slain nurse Alex Pretti after he was shot multiple times by immigration agents.
37-year-old Pretti had been filming officers and protesting immigration raids in Minneapolis when he was gunned down and allegedly denied first aid.
A doctor who witnessed the scene said in a sworn declaration: ‘As I approached, I saw that the victim was lying on his side and was surrounded by several ICE agents. I was confused as to why the victim was on his side, because that is not standard practice when a victim has been shot.
‘Checking for a pulse and administering CPR is standard practice. Instead of doing either of those things, the ICE agents appeared to be counting his bullet wounds.
‘I asked the ICE agents if the victim had a pulse, and they said they did not know.’
The DHS has now denied these claims.
A spokesman said: ‘Two Border Patrol agents, who are nationally certified emergency medical technicians, immediately delivered medical aid to the subject, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.’
Yesterday, it was revealed that Pretti may have been shot after officers mistakenly fired his gun.
In the video taken from the scene, an ICE agent was seen backing away from the scene with Pretti’s pistol, which then appears to fire.
This could have ‘spooked’ the other agents, leading them to shoot Pretti, who was unarmed at the time.
A phenomenon known as ‘contagious fire’ shows that police officers are 11 times more likely to shoot if they already hear gunfire, mistaken or not.
However, a video shared widely on social media and verified by US media outlets showed Pretti never drew his weapon, and agents fired at him seconds after he was sprayed in the face with a chemical irritant and thrown to the ground.
An angry crowd gathered after the shooting and screamed profanities at federal officers, telling them to go home.
President of the Minnesota Gun Owners Law Centre, Rob Doar, wrote on social media that he thinks Pretti died because of ‘a mistake made by an ICE agent.’
‘After analysing the videos, I believe it’s highly likely the first shot was a negligent discharge from the agent in the grey jacket after he removed the Sig P320 from Pretti’s holster while exiting the scene,’ he said.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said police believe Mr Pretti was a ‘lawful gun owner with a permit to carry’.
He appealed for calm, both from the public and from federal law enforcement.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].
For more stories like this, check our news page.
