FBI now leading investigation into fatal shooting of Alex Pretti
The FBI is now leading the federal investigation into the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations branch supporting the investigation, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said.
HSI had been leading the probe into Saturday's shooting of Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
CBS News has reached out to the FBI for comment.
The decision to initially place HSI in the lead investigative role was unusual and raised questions among current and former federal law enforcement officials, given that HSI is not typically tasked with investigating officer-involved shootings and is not structured or equipped to handle core elements of such cases, including ballistics analysis, forensic processing, firearm examinations, video review and large-scale witness canvassing.
HSI historically has investigated crimes with an international or immigration nexus, including human trafficking, drug smuggling, child exploitation and the theft of stolen artifacts.
Two U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents fired their weapons during the shooting, according to a government report sent to Congress and obtained by CBS News that does not mention Pretti reaching for his firearm.
A federal law enforcement official confirmed to CBS News on Wednesday that the federal agents who were involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave.
It is unclear exactly when the personnel were placed on leave. Typically, the protocol is for federal law enforcement agents who have been involved in a shooting to be placed on administrative leave during the course of the investigation.
In another encounter with federal immigration officers 11 days before the shooting, Pretti was seen on video confronting agents on a Minneapolis street, a Pretti family representative confirmed to CBS News.
In the video, recorded on Jan. 13 and posted Wednesday by The News Movement, a digital media outlet, Pretti is seen kicking and damaging the taillight of a government SUV. The vehicle then stops, and federal agents emerge and tackle him to the ground.
President Trump reacted to the video overnight on social media, calling Pretti an "agitator and, perhaps, insurrectionist."
"It was quite a display of abuse and anger, for all to see, crazed and out of control," Mr. Trump said on his Truth Social platform at 1:26 a.m. EST Friday. "The ICE Officer was calm and cool, not an easy thing to be under those circumstances!"