New footage has emerged showing Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old ICU nurse shot dead by border patrol agents, clashing with federal officers days before his death.
The clip from January 13 posted on social media shows Pretti shouting at officers before being tackled to the ground.
An attorney for Pretti’s family confirmed his identity in the video to NBC News, saying in a statement: “A week before Alex was gunned down in the street — despite posing no threat to anyone — he was violently assaulted by a group of ICE agents. Nothing that happened a full week before could possibly have justified Alex’s killing at the hands of ICE on Jan 24.”
It is understood the footage was captured by the News Movement 11 days before he was shot and killed by federal agents.
The outlet was filming a documentary when they received a tip that agents were blocking the street.
Although it is unclear what preceded the incident, footage shows Pretti shout at the federal agents, along with other observers, before he kicks the taillight of a moving vehicle.
Masked agents then step out of the car and grab Pretti before wrestling him to the ground.
Pretti is able to get free and steps away from the agents, with TNM footage then capturing what appears to be a glimpse of a firearm in the back of his trousers.
He remains on the scene alongside several other observers before the agents eventually drive away.
Less than two weeks later, Pretti was shot and killed by federal agents following an altercation.
Federal authorities claimed Pretti was holding a firearm at the time, though this was discredited by verified footage of the incident.
The two immigration officers involved in the shooting have since been placed on leave.
Vigils continue to take place in Minneapolis amid local outrage at Pretti’s death and the earlier killing of Renee Good at the hands of ICE agents.
More than 2,000 federal agents had been deployed there, sparking protests by thousands of Minnesotans.
Since Pretti’s death, US Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino has been withdrawn from the city by Donald Trump and there are growing calls for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to step down.
In response to the new footage, Mayor Jacob Frey called for the focus to remain on the circumstances surrounding his killing.
“Are we actually making the argument that Alex Pretti should be killed for something that happened, like, 11 days prior to the shooting itself?” he said during the CNN town hall.
“I think we should be talking about the circumstances that actually led to the killing and what took place and those circumstances.”
