Was Alex Pretti armed when ICE killed him? I'm finding conflicting reports, and claims that they had already disarmed him before beating and executing him. Has an ice agent’s finger been bitten off?

1. What officials say: DHS/Border Patrol account and legal actions

Department of Homeland Security and Border Patrol commanders have framed the encounter as one in which agents were forced to fire because the subject approached them with a weapon and resisted disarmament, and DHS opened a federal investigation the same day ^{[4] [5]}. Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino said an officer who shot Pretti had extensive training and that agents were on scene; a federal judge ordered DHS to preserve evidence and prosecutors have begun inquiries, underscoring that federal officials assert a defensive-use rationale even as investigations proceed ^{[4] [3]}.

2. Independent video, local officials and media: “no evidence he brandished a gun”

Independent reporting and bystander video analysis tell a different immediate factual story: multiple outlets note that bystander footage does not show Pretti brandishing a firearm prior to being shot, and local officials say there is no evidence he ever brandished a gun in the videos available to them ^{[1] [2]}. Journalists and police briefings discussed frame-by-frame analyses and protests over apparent inconsistencies between DHS’s narrative and what the videos show ^{[6] [5]}.

3. Family and witnesses: descriptions that contradict the armed-aggressor claim

Pretti’s parents described his last moments as protective — saying he had his phone in one hand and an empty raised left hand while trying to shield a woman — and family statements explicitly reject the administration’s account that he was holding a gun ^[7]. At least one witness-filmmaker has provided detailed accounts and filings suggesting Pretti was shot while prone or kneeling and that video shows him receiving multiple shots as officers attempted to detain him ^[8].

4. Allegations of disarming, beating or execution: what the record supports

There are grave allegations circulating — including that agents had disarmed Pretti and then beat or executed him — but among the provided sources there is no direct, corroborated reporting that agents first disarmed him and then executed him after a beating. The strongest recurring empirical claim in the public record is the divergence between DHS’s armed-assailant claim and bystander video that does not show brandishing; beyond that contradiction, claims of a prior disarming-and-beating sequence are not substantiated in these sources ^{[1] [2]}.

5. The “bitten-off finger” claim: an official allegation awaiting verification

Homeland Security Secretary Noem publicly stated that a Homeland Security Investigations officer’s finger “was bitten off” during post-shooting confrontations ^[3]. That allegation appears in press statements reported by outlets, but within the supplied reporting there is no independent verification, photographic or medical confirmation, or detail tracing that specific injury back to the scene; it remains an uncorroborated claim in the public record provided here ^[3].

6. Why uncertainty persists and what to watch for next

Investigative limits fuel continued disagreement: DHS retained control of evidence and was directed to preserve material while Minnesota and federal agencies weigh jurisdiction and access, and multiple outlets emphasize ongoing probes and legal petitions to secure evidence and witness statements ^{[3] [4]}. Resolving whether Pretti was armed or disarmed before being shot and whether any law-enforcement injury claims (like the bitten finger) are accurate will hinge on forensic evidence, weapons chain-of-custody, medical records, ballistics, and the unredacted video and witness statements that investigators are still seeking to collect ^{[3] [6]}.

Exact answer to the user’s two queries, based on current reporting supplied: there is no corroborated evidence in these sources that Alex Pretti ever brandished a gun before being shot, and there is no substantiated reporting here that he was disarmed before being beaten and executed; the claim that an HSI agent’s finger was bitten off is reported as an allegation by DHS Secretary Noem but not independently verified in these sources ^{[1] [2] [3]}.