How many shots were fired in the alex pretti murder?
Executive summary
Independent video analysis of the encounter indicates that at least ten shots were fired in the killing of Alex Pretti, with those shots occurring in a rapid volley over roughly five seconds, according to The New York Times’ review of available footage [1] [2]. Federal officials have characterized the discharge as “defensive shots” but, based on the reporting available, have not provided an official, corroborated shot count that contradicts the independent analyses [3] [4].
1. The visual record and independent counts: what the footage shows
Bystander and street video that circulated immediately after the shooting form the basis for counting the rounds: The New York Times’ frame-by-frame analysis concluded that “at least 10 shots” appear to have been fired within approximately five seconds as agents wrestled Pretti to the pavement and an agent removed what looked like a firearm from his person before additional shots were fired [1] [2]. Multiple other outlets report the same visible sequence—a close-range shot followed by a rapid volley as Pretti collapses and his body goes still—without producing a different numeric total from the visual evidence [5] [6].
2. How federal statements frame the event — words, not numbers
Department of Homeland Security and Border Patrol spokespeople have described the incident as an attempt to disarm an armed individual and have characterized the shots as “defensive,” but those official statements cited in national coverage stress justification rather than providing an independent forensic tally of shots fired [3] [4]. The BBC and CBS reported DHS language that an agent “fired defensive shots” and described the suspect as carrying a 9mm semiautomatic with extra magazines, while not offering an exact shot count from investigators or the agency [4] [3].
3. Corroboration and limits of public evidence
Multiple outlets—The Guardian, Fox9, USA Today and others—describe the same sequence from video: Pretti brought to the ground, an apparent removal of a gun, a close-range shot, then a volley of additional shots, and they use terms like “multiple times” or “several” to describe the total [5] [7] [6]. Those descriptions are consistent with the New York Times’ quantified read, but the public record available in these reports does not include a final, independently audited ballistics or forensic report to definitively lock in an official number beyond the video-based count [1] [5].
4. Competing narratives and why the count matters politically
The numerical portrayal of the shooting has immediate political and legal import: advocates and family members emphasize the rapid volley captured on video to argue excessive force, while federal officials emphasize an officer’s fear and the presence of a firearm to justify the shooting—each side selectively highlighting aspects of the same footage and statements [5] [3]. News organizations have therefore focused both on the visual evidence (leading to the “at least 10 shots” figure) and on federal descriptions that stress defensive action, underscoring divergent narratives that hinge partly on the same observed events [1] [3].
5. Bottom line and unanswered questions
The best available public reporting and video analysis indicate at least ten shots were fired in the confrontation that killed Alex Pretti, concentrated within a roughly five-second span as agents subdued him [1] [2]. However, no reporting in the sources reviewed provides an official, independently verified total from federal investigators or forensic authorities that either confirms or revises that number, so the “at least 10” figure rests on video analysis reported by major outlets rather than a finalized investigative count [1] [6].