Trump weighs in on Alex Pretti shooting as he addresses how long federal agents will stay in Minneapolis
Donald Trump has spoken out on the shooting of Alex Pretti following calls for an investigation.
On Saturday (January 24), another American citizen was shot and killed in Minnesota by federal immigrant officers. The person has been identified as 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti.
His death has sparked rage across the political spectrum, and has been condemned by former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
Many conversations have centered on whether the action was justified or not in addition to analysis of the video that showed the moments before and after Pretti was shot.
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Donald Trump has now weighed in on the situation, also explaining when he expects agents will leave Minneapolis.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Trump did not express whether he felt the shooting was justified or not but did say: “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.”
Trump went on to call Pretti’s gun, a Sig Sauer P320 9mm pistol, a ‘very dangerous gun, a dangerous and unpredictable gun. It’s a gun that goes off when people don’t know it'.
This is likely in reference to reports of the Sig Sauer P320 firing without the trigger being pulled. It has been at the center of several lawsuits, NPR reports.
Sig Sauer said that 'verified incidents of unintended discharges are all attributed to improper handling, incompatible equipment (i.e. holsters), trigger access vulnerability, or a lapse in firearm safety, not to any defect in the P320'.
It added: "The P320 CANNOT, under any circumstances, discharge without a trigger pull. This is verified through extensive testing by SIG SAUER, the U.S. Military, elite law enforcement agencies, and independent laboratories."
The videos of Pretti’s shooting show that he attempted to help a woman to her feet after she had been shoved into the snow by an agent.
He was then pepper sprayed before being tackled to the ground. Footage then shows a struggle ensue before he is shot multiple times by the officers.
Without giving a definitive timeline, Trump also indicated that federal agents would eventually leave the city.
He said: “At some point, we will leave. We’ve done, they’ve done a phenomenal job. We’ll leave a different group of people there for the financial fraud.”
This is in relation to the ongoing investigations into alleged welfare fraud in the state.
On Truth Social, Trump has demanded cooperation from Democrat politicians going forward.
In a post he said: “The Trump Administration is standing by and waiting for ANY Democrat to do the right thing and work with us on these important matters of MAKING AMERICA SAFE like it is in all sections of our country where we are, together with Local Leadership, participating and involved.”
Topics: News, Donald Trump, US News
Gerrard Kaonga