Did Alex pretti threaten ice agents, brandish a firearm, or do anything that would give reason as to why he died

1. What happened that morning — a condensed timeline

Reporting places the shooting near 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis at about 9:05 a.m.; agents involved were Border Patrol tactical officers and at least two federal officers discharged their weapons during the encounter, with Pretti pronounced dead at HCMC later that morning ^{[5] [6] [7]}.

2. The administration’s initial account: a man with a gun who resisted

The Department of Homeland Security and some senior administration officials publicly framed the incident as agents trying to disarm a man who had a handgun and resisted, with DHS messaging including images of a firearm and officials saying the officers fired in self‑defense ^{[1] [2] [8]}.

3. Bystander videos and witness statements that challenge the official framing

Multiple outlets report that available video clips and eyewitness accounts show Pretti holding a phone — not a gun — while being tackled and struck during the scuffle, and several witnesses said footage does not appear to show him brandishing a weapon before agents moved in ^{[4] [8] [9]}.

4. Internal reviews and agency notifications that complicate the narrative

An internal CBP Office of Professional Responsibility assessment and a preliminary government notification to Congress do not include claims that Pretti attacked officers or reached for a gun in the manner first described publicly; NPR and CBS obtained documents suggesting the internal review’s account more closely matches bystander video and contradicts some early White House and DHS claims ^{[3] [7] [10]}.

5. What the formal evidence and chain‑of‑custody reporting show

CBP notifications indicate two agents fired Glock pistols and that agents yelled “He’s got a gun!” during the struggle, but reporting also raises concerns about evidence handling: news outlets say Pretti’s firearm was later found and placed in a vehicle without a documented chain of custody or proper evidence bagging, a detail that complicates independent verification of sequence and intent ^{[6] [7]}.

6. Political and interpretive layers around what “threatening” means here

Public statements from DHS leadership and the Border Patrol framed Pretti as a lethal threat, while political opponents, family members, and local officials have called those characterizations false or premature; media outlets from The New York Times to Reason and the BBC have highlighted both the contested footage and the political incentives—federal officials defending enforcement actions, and activists portraying Pretti as a victim—that shape competing narratives ^{[4] [11] [8]}.

7. Investigations underway and the limits of available public facts

Multiple investigative tracks exist: DHS said HSI and other internal units will review the killing, body‑worn camera footage is being examined by investigators, and Congress received notifications about the shooting, yet the DOJ declined to open a civil‑rights probe per some reports and public release of full footage and forensic autopsy results remained limited at the time of reporting, meaning definitive public answers remain unobtained ^{[10] [1] [3]}.

8. Conclusion — did Pretti threaten, brandish, or do something to justify being shot?

Based on the available reporting, there is no clear, corroborated public evidence that Alex Pretti deliberately brandished a firearm or launched an unambiguous lethal attack on agents prior to being tackled and shot; official claims that he resisted and that officers perceived a gun threat exist in agency statements and agent testimony, but internal reviews, bystander video and multiple news investigations raise substantial doubts and contradict the initial administration narrative, and outstanding questions about evidence handling and access to full footage mean investigators — not the public record to date — must determine whether the agents’ use of deadly force was justified ^{[6] [7] [3] [4]}.