Did alex pretti fire his gun?
Executive summary
There is no credible, publicly available evidence that Alex Pretti fired his gun during the encounter with federal agents in Minneapolis; multiple independently verified bystander videos show him holding a cellphone and being pinned to the ground before officers opened fire, and none of the reporting collected by this briefing documents Pretti firing a weapon [1] [2] [3]. Federal officials say Pretti was in possession of a handgun and two magazines, and CBP/ DHS assert he “approached” agents with a weapon, but those claims do not establish that Pretti discharged the firearm [1] [4] [2].
1. The videotaped sequence: phone in hand, then agents subdue him
Several news organizations reviewed and verified multiple bystander videos that show Pretti holding up a phone and filming or directing traffic moments before agents grab and pin him to the pavement; those videos do not show him wielding or firing a gun prior to the first shots [1] [2] [3]. The New York Times’ frame‑by‑frame analysis reported that Pretti “was clearly holding a phone, not a gun” when agents approached and that an agent with empty hands grabbed him before allies piled on, and USA Today and other outlets reached the same conclusion based on video review [1] [2].
2. Federal statements: possession asserted, discharge not documented
The Department of Homeland Security and Border Patrol issued statements saying Pretti “approached” agents with a 9mm semiautomatic handgun and that agents attempted to disarm him; DHS also reported two magazines were found [1] [2]. Those official accounts describe possession and an alleged attack but, as reported in these sources, do not include independent evidence or claim that Pretti fired his weapon during the struggle [1] [5].
3. Video detail that complicates the federal narrative
Video footage captured an agent removing a firearm from Pretti’s waistband after he was on the ground and, seconds later, another agent opened fire several times—footage that raises a central question about who had the gun and whether it had been fired by Pretti [6] [1]. The New York Times and FOX9 described an agent pulling a gun from among the group and another agent firing, a sequence inconsistent with a simple “approached with a gun and brandished it” account, but those visual records do not by themselves prove whether Pretti fired first [1] [6].
4. Lack of reporting that Pretti discharged a firearm
Across the contemporaneous coverage compiled here, no outlet produced a verified video, forensic result, police statement, or eyewitness claim confirming that Pretti fired his handgun; instead, reporting emphasizes that videos show him with a phone and that the gun only becomes visible in the hands of agents after he is on the ground [1] [2] [3]. That absence of evidence is material: multiple reputable outlets explicitly note that the videos do not show Pretti wielding a gun before he was shot [2] [3].
5. Conflicting claims and the investigative gap
Federal officials insist the shooting followed an attempt to disarm Pretti; advocacy groups, family members, and video analysts say the footage undermines that version and demand transparent investigation, including ballistic and forensic analysis to establish who fired which shots and when [1] [4] [7]. As of the reporting summarized here, those definitive forensic results—shell casings, gunshot residue, ballistic trajectories, and autopsy timing—have not been reported publicly, leaving the crucial question of whether Pretti fired unresolved by independent forensic evidence in the record [1] [7].
6. Bottom line: what the evidence supports now
Based on verified video reviewed and the contemporaneous news reporting collected here, there is no documented instance of Alex Pretti firing his gun during the encounter; federal claims of possession are on the record, but they do not equate to proof that he discharged the firearm, and visual evidence instead shows him holding a phone and being pinned before agents pulled a gun and opened fire [1] [2] [6]. Pending the release of formal investigative findings—ballistics, forensic testing, and an independent timeline—publicly available evidence does not support the assertion that Pretti fired his weapon.