Federal agents shot and killed a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident, Alex Jeffrey Pretti, at around 9:05am on Saturday. The shooting and the moments before and afterwards were caught on camera. Those images have provoked an outpouring of public anger.
The Sky News Data and Forensics team has examined every frame to determine how the shooting unfolded.
Just over 5 minutes before the shooting
At 8:58am exactly, Alex Pretti can be seen in a video obtained by Sky News. He is filming a federal Border Patrol agent across the road. Then 17 seconds later he is pushed for the first time by that agent. The agent is later involved in the shooting.
49 seconds before shooting
A different video a few minutes later shows Alex again, he can be seen filming an altercation that is happening with two civilians and the same agent, his phone in his hand.
25 seconds before the shooting
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Another angle shows that the Border Patrol agent in the altercation with the civilians walks over to Alex and pushes him for a second time, more violently than before.
After pushing Alex in front of a parked white car, the agent sprays him and other civilians with what appears to be pepper spray.
21 seconds before the shooting
Four seconds later, Alex can be seen trying to help one of the women who has been knocked over. Still holding his phone, he is then pulled to the floor by the federal agents.
17 seconds before the shooting
The Department of Homeland Security stated on Saturday that Alex had been ‘brandishing’ a weapon. According to the DHS account, a man approached U.S. Border Patrol agents with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun.
The U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said the agent fired “defensive shots” after Mr Pretti allegedly reacted violently when officers tried to disarm him and stressed that agents were there to enforce U.S. immigration laws.
However, Sky News has found no evidence in the video available so far to support that claim.
And a different angle filmed from inside the parked white car just 17 seconds before he was shot shows Alex still holding only his phone.
4 seconds before the shooting
Seven agents can be seen surrounding Alex Pretti.
A man in a grey coat begins to approach with empty hands and grabs at Alex. He appears to fumble in the waistband at the back of Alex’s trousers.
1 second before the shooting
The agent in the grey coat walks away from the group, now with a gun in the same hand he had been using to search Mr Pretti. At no point do we see Alex reach for any weapon. By this point, he is unarmed.
As the man in the grey coat leaves the scene, the agent in the black hat moves his pepper spray to his other hand, draws his weapon from his holster and with Alex struggling to his knees appears to fire a single shot at close range into his back.
Three more shots follow as the agent in the beige beanie unholsters his gun and also fires.
Another shot follows, then 5 more in quick succession, from both of the two agents in the black and beige hats. At least six of those are while Alex lies motionless on the ground.
At least 10 shots appear to have been fired within five seconds. Two agents can be seen with their guns drawn after the shots are fired.
The seconds after the shooting
After the last shot was fired, he is left on the floor with no help for 26 seconds before the agents reapproach him and shout ‘where’s the gun’.
The agents then appear to rip his shirt open.
5 minutes after the shooting
At 9:10am, paramedics can be seen giving CPR to Alex.
Brian O’Hara, the chief of the Minneapolis Police Department, said that Alex Pretti was an American citizen with no criminal record, and that he had a valid firearms permit.
Under Minnesota law, citizens can legally carry a handgun in public if they have a permit.
Large numbers of protesters continued to gather at the scene of Alex’s shooting throughout the day. Later that day, Tim Walz approved the deployment of the Minnesota National Guard, who wore high-visibility neon vests to distinguish themselves from federal agents.
Michael and Susan Pretti, Alex Pretti’s parents, released a statement saying their son was a “good man”.
“We are heartbroken but also very angry,” Pretti’s parents said in a statement.
“Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for.”
The Data x Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.
