President Donald Trump said his administration is reviewing Saturday’s fatal shooting by a federal officer in Minneapolis.
Alex Pretti, 37, was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis during immigration enforcement operations Saturday morning.
“Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, an agent fired defensive shots,” the department added.
More details about the incident will be released, DHS said.
“It appears that Alex Pretti was disarmed,” host Peter Doocy asked the secretary. “If he was disarmed, is it the protocol to use deadly force?”
Noem responded that all video angles will be “part of this investigation.”
“Every video will be analyzed, everything will be looked at, and that’s part of the answers that I can’t speak to—every single thing that those officers thought, but this happened in seconds,” she said. “They clearly feared for their lives and took action to defend themselves and the people around them.”
Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino joined Noem’s defense of the Trump administration’s law enforcement efforts in Minneapolis. He accused Pretti of being “in the scene actively impeding and assaulting law enforcement.”
“What happened between when that situation first came about, and the shooting; that’s going to be investigated. And we’re going to get to the facts of that.”
The operation in Minnesota is part of the Trump administration’s nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration and criminal activity.
Trump has signaled that he will eventually withdraw immigration enforcement officials from the Minneapolis area.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
