What firearm did alex pretti have on scene before his death

1. DHS’s public account: a 9 mm semi‑automatic recovered and shown to reporters

The Department of Homeland Security publicly stated that Pretti “approached U.S. Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi‑automatic handgun” and officials posted an image of a firearm they said belonged to him; that characterization was repeated in national press coverage and in a DHS news conference ^{[1] [2] [5]}. DHS officials also said two magazines were recovered with the weapon and framed the presence of the firearm as justification for agents’ use of deadly force ^{[6] [5]}.

2. Media identifications: a Sig Sauer 9 mm — often described as a P320 variant

Several outlets reporting from the scene and reviewing the DHS photo identified the pistol as a Sig Sauer 9 mm, with at least one firearms expert and local reporting noting it resembled a P320 AXG Combat configuration — language that has been echoed in regional coverage describing the gun as a common semiautomatic carried by U.S. citizens ^{[3] [7] [8]}.

3. Video evidence and witness statements that complicate DHS’s phrasing

Publicly circulated bystander videos shown and analyzed by multiple newsrooms do not depict Pretti brandishing a weapon prior to being tackled; those videos instead show him holding a phone and attempting to shield a woman from pepper spray, and two sworn affidavits say witnesses did not see him holding a gun before he was shot ^{[2] [5] [4]}. Independent analyses highlighted that agents are seen leaning over Pretti and later holding a handgun — which some commentators and attorneys say appears to match the gun DHS later published — raising questions about the timing of when the firearm was in an agent’s hands ^{[7] [1]}.

4. Legal and rhetorical stakes: how description of the firearm shapes narratives

Officials including DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and other administration voices described Pretti’s conduct in stark terms and emphasized the firearm to argue self‑defense; pro‑gun groups, members of Congress, and civil‑liberties advocates reached sharply different conclusions about whether carrying the gun justified the shooting or whether agents’ actions and the available video undermine that claim ^{[6] [9] [10]}. The gun’s public identification — a 9 mm Sig Sauer in DHS messaging and press reporting — has therefore become central to competing political narratives and to litigation and investigative demands ^{[1] [9]}.

5. Forensic and evidentiary status: preserved photo but contested chain and context

DHS published the photo of the gun it said was recovered, and state officials have sought access and preservation of scene evidence; a federal judge issued a temporary order aimed at preventing alteration or destruction of evidence, signaling immediate legal dispute over custody and examination of the firearm and related material ^{[11] [6]}. Reporting notes that while the gun image and magazine count are the government’s factual claims, independent verification of whether the weapon was fired, who possessed it at specific moments, and whether Pretti was disarmed before shots were fired remains contested in public reporting ^{[7] [11]}.

6. Bottom line and limitations of available reporting

Based on DHS statements and multiple news reports, the firearm associated with Alex Pretti at the scene is described as a 9 mm semi‑automatic handgun — widely reported as a Sig Sauer P320‑style pistol — and DHS said two magazines were present ^{[1] [3] [6]}. However, available video and witness affidavits contradict or complicate the government’s narrative about whether Pretti ever held or brandished that weapon during the confrontation; reporting to date does not settle the precise timing of possession, whether the weapon discharged, or the complete forensic chain of custody ^{[2] [4] [7]}.