The two agents who fired their guns during Alex Pretti’s fatal shooting in Minnesota have been placed on administrative leave, according to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.
The report comes from NBC News, the US partner of Sky News.
A preliminary DHS report sent to Congress detailing Pretti’s killing on Saturday said two officers fired their weapons during the struggle, but did not confirm claims from federal officials that the nurse was “brandishing” a gun.
The two border control agents have not been named.
Mr Pretti’s death – the second fatal shooting of a US citizen in Minnesota by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in a month – sparked a national uproar.
The killing of the 37-year-old ICU nurse came weeks after Renee Good was shot dead by ICE agents in her car, less than a mile from where Mr Pretti was killed.
Mr Pretti had himself attended protests in the aftermath of Ms Good’s death.
On Tuesday, Donald Trump appeared to distance himself from controversial remarks made by senior members of his administration about the shooting.
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The response from top White House officials, notably Trump adviser Stephen Miller and DHS secretary Kristi Noem, had provoked a furious backlash from Mr Pretti’s family, leading Democrats, members of the public, and – increasingly – Republican politicians.
In a statement, Mr Pretti’s family said the nurse, who cared for US veterans, was a “kind-hearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends”.
They criticised “the sickening lies told about our son by the administration”, calling them “reprehensible and disgusting”.
They went on to say: “Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs”.
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Mr Trump has since said he wants to “de-escalate” the situation in Minneapolis, and, following talks with the Democratic mayor and state governor, he described the killing as “very unfortunate”.
When leaving the White House for a rally in Iowa, the president said that he did not believe Mr Pretti was a “would-be assassin”, the description used by Mr Miller.
But Mr Trump added: “Listen, you can’t walk in with guns. You can’t do that, but it’s just a very unfortunate incident.”
When later speaking to reporters before the rally, he repeated his view that “certainly, [Mr Pretti] shouldn’t have been carrying a gun”.
However, in a sign that the White House may be shifting its stance on the shooting, a controversial US border patrol commander known for his rapid “turn and burn” tactics is reportedly being pulled out of Minneapolis amid outrage over the killing.
