The Department of Homeland Security alleged that Alex Jeffrey Pretti had planned an attack on law enforcement
Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a man fatally shot by US Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis, was armed and had apparently planned to inflict maximum harm on law enforcement personnel, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said.
Pretti, an intensive care nurse at the Department of Veterans Affairs and a US citizen, was killed during an altercation with federal agents on Saturday. The DHS said he was carrying a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun and two magazines and had no identification.
“This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement,” the DHS said. The DHS published a photo of a gun and a magazine it said Pretti brought with him.
Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino said the agents fired “defensive shots” after Pretti “violently resisted” attempts to disarm him.
According to Bovino, the agents were conducting an operation to apprehend an unrelated illegal migrant when Pretti approached them. The DHS said about 200 “rioters” later arrived at the scene and obstructed immigration officials.
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