US agents involved in latest Minneapolis shooting put on leave: reports

At least two federal agents who were involved in Saturday’s fatal shooting of a US citizen in Minneapolis have been placed on administrative leave, two US media outlets said on Wednesday.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the two immigration agents who discharged their weapons during the deadly encounter with Alex Pretti were put on leave as part of standard procedures, Fox News reported.

MS NOW earlier reported that agents involved in the shooting of Pretti were being put on leave, citing an unnamed source.

Representatives for DHS could not be immediately reached to confirm the reports.

Immigration agents on Saturday fired multiple shots at Pretti, an ICU nurse at a hospital for veterans.

His death was the second fatal encounter between Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and US citizens in Minnesota this month, sparking a national uproar.

US review of Pretti’s killing does not mention him brandishing firearm

Meanwhile, an initial US government review of the fatal shooting of Pretti made no mention of him brandishing a firearm, despite initial statements by Trump officials highlighting the weapon.

A preliminary review by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said Pretti, 37, was shot by two federal officers, a Border Patrol agent and a customs officer, after he refused to move out of the street following an order from a customs officer.

The DHS said he “approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun, but did not mention that the weapon was holstered.

The CBP review, conducted by the agency’s Office of Professional Responsibility and shared with lawmakers on Tuesday, is standard protocol and shared with members of Congress to promote transparency, CBP spokesperson Hilton Beckham said.

Beckham said the notifications “provide an initial outline of an event that took place and do not convey any definitive conclusion or investigative findings”.

Details in the preliminary review reinforced the disconnect between how Trump officials portrayed the shooting and the video evidence.

The review said that a customs officer tried to move Pretti and a woman out of the street, but that they “did not move”.

The officer then fired pepper spray at Pretti and the woman, it said.

CBP customs officers normally work at ports of entry, screening passengers and goods entering the US, but some have been detailed to work on immigration enforcement by the Trump administration as part of its crackdown.

The identities of the agents and officers at the scene and whether they had any experience with crowd control in urban environments have not been made public.

The CBP internal assessment said that the agency’s personnel tried to take Pretti into custody and that “a struggle ensued”.

A Border Patrol agent shouted “He’s got a gun!” multiple times during the struggle, the review said. Five seconds later, a Border Patrol agent and a customs officer fired at Pretti.

Video showed an agent removing Pretti’s gun from his waist prior to the shooting. The review was based on footage from body-worn cameras and CBP documentation, it said.