Witnesses to a fatal shooting in Minneapolis on Saturday disputed claims by the Department of Homeland Security that the victim brandished a gun at federal immigration agents before being killed.

The accounts come from a pair of affidavits filed in federal court Saturday night as part of a lawsuit asking an appeals court to reinstate an order prohibiting immigration enforcement from retaliating against protesters in Minneapolis, where two people have been killed by immigration enforcement in the past three weeks.

A Minneapolis resident described seeing the deceased, later identified as 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti, directing traffic before officers forced him and two other people onto the sidewalk and sprayed them with pepper spray.

Pretti attempted to help a spotter off the ground when she was pushed down, surrounded by multiple officers and shot repeatedly.

Federal agents stand near police tape as protesters gather near the site where state and local authorities say federal agents shot a man earlier in the morning in Minneapolis on Saturday. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said federal agents deployed to Minneapolis as part of a broad immigration crackdown had carried out
Federal agents stand near police tape as protesters gather near the site where state and local authorities say federal agents shot a man earlier in the morning in Minneapolis on Saturday. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said federal agents deployed to Minneapolis as part of a broad immigration crackdown had carried out “another horrific shooting,” less than three weeks after the shooting death of Renee Good.

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A photograph of Alex Pretti, 37, can be seen at a makeshift memorial in the area where he was shot and killed by federal immigration agents earlier in the day in Minneapolis on Saturday. This is the second fatal shooting of a civilian during the Trump administration's unprecedented operation in the city, prompting fresh protests and outrage from state officials. Pretti's death came less than three weeks after an ICE officer shot and killed Renee Good.
A photograph of Alex Pretti, 37, can be seen at a makeshift memorial in the area where he was shot and killed by federal immigration agents earlier in the day in Minneapolis on Saturday. This is the second fatal shooting of a civilian during the Trump administration’s unprecedented operation in the city, prompting fresh protests and outrage from state officials. Pretti’s death came less than three weeks after an ICE officer shot and killed Renee Good.

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“I don’t know why they shot him. He was just helping. I was five feet away from him and they just shot him,” testified the witness, who also provided a recording of the incident as part of her statement.

A second account from a 29-year-old Minneapolis resident identified as a licensed pediatrician said he witnessed the shooting from inside his apartment, where he said he saw “absolutely no need for violence, much less deadly force by multiple officers.”

Pretti, a licensed gun owner, had a holstered firearm on his person at the time of the incident, in accordance with Minnesota’s open carry laws.

The witness went to the scene and offered medical assistance, seeing that none of the officers were taking a pulse or administering CPR, as is “usual practice,” according to the statement.

People cry at a makeshift memorial in the area where Pretti was shot.
People cry at a makeshift memorial in the area where Pretti was shot.

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They were initially blocked by agents, mirroring the experience of another doctor who was prevented from providing aid to Renee Good after she was shot by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis on January 7.

“Normally I wouldn’t have been so persistent, but as a medic I felt a professional and moral obligation to help this man, especially since none of the officers were helping him,” the witness to the Pretti shooting said.

Finally allowed to approach the scene, the doctor discovered that the victim had at least four gunshot wounds and had no pulse. They began CPR before emergency medical services arrived and took over.

In both statements, witnesses said they were afraid to return to their residences after the shooting.

The bystander who recorded the incident said he feared officers would arrest them, something he claimed had happened to other witnesses.

“I don’t know what the officers will do when they find me,” his statement said. “I know they’re not telling the truth about what happened.”

DHS has maintained that federal agents fired “defensive shots” at Pretti, who they say was brandishing a gun at agents and then “violently resisted” arrest.