CNN Source: Pretti Clashed With Agents the Week Before He Was Fatally Shot

Alex Pretti, the gunman whom a border agent shot to death last week, clashed with agents the week before and sustained a broken rib.

The report from hate-Trump CNN comes as the Department of Homeland Security investigates whether Pretti’s 9mm pistol discharged as an agent disarmed him, which might have triggered the shooting that killed him.

Pretti is the second leftist shot to death during operations in Minneapolis by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The first, Renee Good, disobeyed lawful orders to exit her vehicle, attempted to flee, and nearly ran over an ICE agent. He shot her in the head.

CNN Report

If the CNN report is accurate, federal immigration agents “had documented details about Alex Pretti before he was shot to death on Saturday,” the network reported today, citing “sources”:

It is unclear how Pretti first came to the attention of federal authorities, but sources told CNN that about a week before his death, he suffered a broken rib when a group of federal officers tackled him while he was protesting their attempt to detain other individuals.

In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said that “DHS law enforcement has no record of this incident.”

A memo sent earlier this month to agents temporarily assigned to the city asked them to “capture all images, license plates, identifications, and general information on hotels, agitators, protestors, etc., so we can capture it all in one consolidated form,” according to correspondence reviewed by CNN.

Without evidence, the network claimed that the gunman’s first encounter with agents “is another reflection of the aggressive approach federal agents are taking with observers and protesters.” Apparently, that encounter is not a “reflection of the aggressive approach” that insurrectionist leftists “are taking” with federal agents.

Example: On January 24, DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin reported that an insurrectionist bit off the finger of an officer with Homeland Security Investigations.

The flesh-eating leftist aside, the network also pointed to DHS’s warning to leftists about “threats against federal law enforcement officers during immigration enforcement operations — and criticized protesters who they argue are impeding those operations.” 

The network quoted McLaughlin. “When our law enforcement encounters a violent agitator who is breaking the law, obstructing law enforcement or assaulting them, our law enforcement make records to advance prosecution. This is not ground breaking, it is standard protocol,” she said.

Broken Rib

A source who requested anonymity because he feared “retribution” told the network about Pretti’s encounter with agents. It began “when he stopped his car after observing ICE agents chasing what he described as a family on foot, and began shouting and blowing his whistle.”

“Pretti later told the source that five agents tackled him and one leaned on his back — an encounter that left him with a broken rib,” the network continued:

The agents quickly released him at the scene.

“That day, he thought he was going to die,” said the source.

Pretti was later given medication consistent with treating a broken rib, according to records reviewed by CNN.…

Pretti’s name was known to federal agents, according to a source — though it’s unclear whether the new intake form was used to share his information.

It’s also not clear whether the federal agents who encountered Pretti on Saturday recognized him before they confronted him — eventually wrestling him to the ground, taking a gun from his waistband and then fatally shooting him.

Gun Discharged?

Citing the CNN story, independent journalist Benny Johnson observed that after the first run-in with agents, Pretti returned with a gun.

“He was tackled for impeding operations, and a week later he showed up with a loaded weapon to attack federal law enforcement,” Johnson averred:

He had a history of interfering with ICE and the left wants you to believe he meant no harm. This is who they are rioting for. 

The operation motivating and fueling these people needs to be completely exposed and brought down.

That claim aside, DHS, as The New American reported yesterday, is investigating whether Pretti’s Sig Sauer P320 discharged when an agent disarmed him. If so, other agents might have thought he started shooting at them.

A lawyer with the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, Rob Doar, explained on X his belief that the agent who seized the weapon inadvertently fired it, writing over video of the shooting:

After analyzing the videos, I believe it’s highly likely the first shot was a negligent discharge from the agent in the grey jacket after he removed the Sig P320 from Pretti’s holster while exiting the scene.

If Pretti’s gun fired, DHS must learn whether it discharged in handling or the agent inadvertently pulled the trigger.

As the New York Post reported, “as a result of the accidental discharge, which happened while the gun was in a Border agent’s hand, other officers may have believed their lives were in danger — resulting in the split-second decision to open fire on Pretti, killing him, multiple sources familiar with the investigation said.”

Pretti’s firearm has a history of accidental discharges without pulling the trigger. Two owners successfully sued Sig Sauer after a P320 fired and hit them in the leg. In one case, the owner was descending step when a holstered P320 shot him in the leg. In another, the gun discharged when he unholstered.

Juries awarded $13.3 million in the two cases.