Border Patrol chief praises agents who killed Alex Pretti and suggests they were victims
Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino has said the agents who shot Alex Pretti did 'a good job'.
Following the death of Pretti, weeks after Renee Good was shot and killed, fury has erupted across the US.
Video footage of the 37-year-old nurse has shown the moments before and after Pretti was shot while he was at a protest in Minneapolis.
Many of the videos have been circulating on social media and show Pretti attempting to help a woman up from the floor after she was pushed into the snow by an agent.
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He is then pepper sprayed and tackled to the ground by multiple agents, before being shot multiple times and being pronounced dead at the scene.
Pretti is believed to have been legally in possession of a firearm, but reports have indicated that he was disarmed by the agents before he was shot and killed.
Many have called for an investigation, all the while condemning ICE and the current tension and atmosphere in America.
In a CNN interview with Dana Bash, the Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino defended the agents' actions.
He said: “The suspect put himself in that situation.
“The victims are the Border Patrol agents there.”
Bovino later added: "I believe that the fantastic training of that our law enforcement partners has prevented any specific shootings of law enforcement.
"So good job for our law enforcement in taking him down before he was able to do that."
When shown a video of the incident and asked why Pretti was shot after his gun was reportedly taken away by agents, Bovino refused to give a clear answer.
He replied: “Dana, you don’t know that he was unarmed. I don’t know that he was unarmed. That is freeze frame adjudication of a crime scene via a photo.
“That is why we have investigators, that is why we have investigation that is going to answer these questions.”
He added: “We don’t know that agent was taking his gun away. The facts are going to come to light. That is why we investigate.”
Bash shot back: "Well, with respect you say that's why we investigate, but you're also drawing other conclusions that sort of fly in the face of waiting for an investigation."
Bovino was later grilled on social media from individuals who did not feel Bovino was offering any clarifications based on the multiple video vantage points that have been circulating.
While Donald Trump did not explain whether he felt the shooting was justified, he did speak out on it over the weekend.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal Trump has said: “We’re looking, we’re reviewing everything and will come out with a determination.”
He added: “I don’t like any shooting. I don’t like it.
"But I don’t like it when somebody goes into a protest and he’s got a very powerful, fully loaded gun with two magazines loaded up with bullets also. That doesn’t play good either.”
Gerrard Kaonga