Did an ice agent murder a man that was doing nothing to support being shot 10 times

1. What the videos and independent reporting show

Eyewitness and cellphone footage published by outlets including The Guardian, The New York Times and local broadcasters appears to show Pretti wrestled to the ground, pepper‑sprayed and pinned by federal agents, after which at least 10 shots were fired, including several while he was motionless on the pavement, and some shots struck him in the back as he lay there ^{[3] [1] [2] [4]}.

2. What federal officials and DHS say in response

DHS and Border Patrol officials released statements saying the man “approached” agents and was armed, and DHS posted a photo of a 9mm handgun they said was carried by Pretti; they describe the shooting as a defensive response during an operation to apprehend a subject with a criminal history ^{[5] [6] [7]}.

3. Where the accounts diverge — key factual disputes

Investigative reporters and the New York Times note that video does not show Pretti brandishing a weapon before he was tackled, and that agents appear to have removed a firearm from him before multiple agents fired — a discrepancy that directly contradicts the immediate DHS framing that he “reacted violently” with an apparent weapon ^{[1] [8]}. Civil‑liberties groups and the ACLU point to footage that suggests agents were standing over Pretti when several shots struck him, framing it as evidence of excessive force ^[9].

4. The investigatory and legal context matters

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and Minneapolis authorities say federal personnel initially blocked state investigators from the scene and that the Department of Homeland Security will lead the probe, with FBI assistance; critics call that self‑investigation irregular and politically fraught, and a judge ordered federal authorities not to destroy evidence — all of which complicates an independent, transparent determination of criminal culpability ^{[1] [10] [8]}.

5. The political and institutional backstory

This killing occurred amid a highly charged federal immigration surge in Minneapolis that already included at least one other recent fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen by an immigration agent; the pattern of agency shootings and the near‑absence of criminal charges in past federal‑agent shootings fuels public suspicion and mobilized large protests and political pressure on Congress over DHS funding ^{[6] [11] [2]}.

6. Legal definition vs. prosecutorial reality

Murder as a legal conclusion requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt of unlawful intent or depraved indifference under state or federal statutes; while video evidence raising the prospect that Pretti was shot while restrained may satisfy prima facie facts consistent with criminal wrongdoing, no prosecutor has yet charged agents, and historically Justice Department investigations of federal agent shootings seldom produce criminal indictments — a gap between apparent facts and legal outcomes that sources like WIRED and civil‑liberties groups emphasize ^{[12] [9]}.

7. Conclusion: what can be stated now, and what remains open

On the record: federal agents fired at least 10 rounds that killed Alex Pretti, and published video and reporting show shots being fired while he was on the ground, contradicting the administration’s initial narrative that he “reacted violently”; however, whether those facts legally amount to murder has not been adjudicated and remains the central unresolved question pending independent forensic review and prosecutorial decisions, and reporting documents both the weapon DHS says was present and the videos that undermine the official account ^{[2] [1] [5] [3] [9]}.