Overview
A preliminary internal review by U.S. Customs and Border Protection into the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, 37, in Minneapolis does not record that he brandished a firearm, according to the document shared with lawmakers. The review was prepared by the agency's Office of Professional Responsibility and draws from body-worn camera footage and CBP documentation.
The assessment states that two federal officers - a Border Patrol agent and a customs officer - shot Pretti after he did not move out of the street following an order from a customs officer. It describes a sequence in which a customs officer attempted to move Pretti and a woman from the roadway; when they did not comply, the officer deployed pepper spray.
Sequence of events in the CBP review
The internal report says that CBP personnel then tried to take Pretti into custody and that a struggle ensued. During the struggle, a Border Patrol agent shouted multiple times, "He's got a gun!" Five seconds later, a Border Patrol agent and a customs officer fired at Pretti.
Footage captured on body-worn cameras is reported to show an agent removing a firearm from Pretti's waist prior to the shooting. The CBP review does not use the term "brandished," and it does not state that officers observed Pretti making an overt move with the weapon.
Contrasts with early administration statements
In the hours after the shooting, senior Trump administration officials described Pretti as an aggressor. The Department of Homeland Security said he "approached U.S. Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun." That statement did not specify that the weapon was holstered.
White House aide Stephen Miller publicly labelled Pretti a "domestic terrorist" and a "would-be assassin" without offering evidence to support those characterizations. Video from the scene soon introduced details that undercut the initial public portrayals.
Context and remaining questions
The shooting has prompted nationwide reaction and led to a shift in tone by the President this week. Pretti, an ICU nurse at a veterans hospital, was killed on a Saturday; the incident has since drawn widespread attention.
The CBP review notes that customs officers typically operate at ports of entry screening travelers and goods, but some have been detailed to immigration enforcement tasks. The identities of the agents and officers involved at the scene have not been released, nor has the agency disclosed whether those personnel had prior experience with crowd control in urban environments.
Those details remain unanswered in the internal assessment shared with lawmakers. The review focuses on the footage and agency documentation as its evidentiary basis and does not make broader public claims beyond the recorded sequence of events.