US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been accused of failing to provide a timely report on the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old US citizen who was killed in Minneapolis by two CBP agents. The agency had drafted its own questionnaire with questions about the incident but instead sent Congress its responses to the list, which were largely evasive.
The report, which has been published by The Intercept, reveals that the shooting occurred after a Customs and Border Protection Officer (CBPO) was confronted by two female civilians blowing whistles who were ordered to move out of the roadway. The officer pushed them both away, and one of the females ran to Pretti for help. A struggle ensued when CBP personnel attempted to take Pretti into custody.
The report, which was sent to Congress after a deadline had passed, provides some details about the incident but largely avoids making any conclusions or providing evidence to support speculation that Pretti's gun accidentally went off during the shooting.
CBP has denied claims by administration officials that Pretti planned to massacre immigration officials. The agency has also claimed that it defers to other agencies in answering questions about its own actions.
Critics of CBP are calling for greater transparency and accountability from the agency, with some lawmakers saying that they will introduce legislation to limit the use of force by Department of Homeland Security agents and require DHS to track use of force incidents. The incident has also raised concerns about the Trump administration's campaign of intimidation against communities perceived as threats to its agenda.
The Intercept report highlights the growing trend of government agencies using their powers to intimidate and silence critics, which has become a hallmark of the Trump era.
The report, which has been published by The Intercept, reveals that the shooting occurred after a Customs and Border Protection Officer (CBPO) was confronted by two female civilians blowing whistles who were ordered to move out of the roadway. The officer pushed them both away, and one of the females ran to Pretti for help. A struggle ensued when CBP personnel attempted to take Pretti into custody.
The report, which was sent to Congress after a deadline had passed, provides some details about the incident but largely avoids making any conclusions or providing evidence to support speculation that Pretti's gun accidentally went off during the shooting.
CBP has denied claims by administration officials that Pretti planned to massacre immigration officials. The agency has also claimed that it defers to other agencies in answering questions about its own actions.
Critics of CBP are calling for greater transparency and accountability from the agency, with some lawmakers saying that they will introduce legislation to limit the use of force by Department of Homeland Security agents and require DHS to track use of force incidents. The incident has also raised concerns about the Trump administration's campaign of intimidation against communities perceived as threats to its agenda.
The Intercept report highlights the growing trend of government agencies using their powers to intimidate and silence critics, which has become a hallmark of the Trump era.
those CBP agents should be held accountable for what they did 
it's crazy that they're dodging questions and making excuses instead of just telling the truth. I mean, who pushes people away and then gets shot? 
and now we find out that one of the females who was blown off her feet had to run to Alex Pretti for help 
that's insane! The fact that CBP is trying to cover this up and silence critics is just devastating 
we need transparency and accountability now, not more cover-ups! 
. first off, it's ridiculous that cbp waited until after a deadline to even submit a report on this incident - what kind of agency doesn't respect its own deadlines? 
. and now we're supposed to just trust that cbp will magically start giving us more info without any pressure or legislation? 
yeah right.
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. And can we please get some answers about that shooting? Two whistling women trying to help someone and suddenly everyone's all "gun went off accidentally"? 
Come on, folks! Let's see some facts and figures here instead of speculation 
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. some lawmakers wanna make sure these kinds of incidents don't happen in the future, and i'm totally down for that 
. let's get to the bottom of this and make sure we're treating our citizens with respect and dignity 
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, how can we trust CBP if they're dodging questions about a fatal shooting? They need to step up their transparency game 
. It's not right that they're dodging questions and evading answers about how it all went down. I mean, come on, if you're gonna do something like shoot someone, you gotta own up to it and explain why... The fact that they're trying to deflect blame and silence critics is just plain unsettling 
. I mean, you can't expect people to remain calm when they're being blown at by some dude with a megaphone.
. We need more specific answers and less finger-pointing. I'm all for accountability, but let's not make assumptions here.
. That just seems like a waste of time and resources to me. Can't we just get the facts straight for once? 
! The US CBP agents are literally killing people on the spot & they're not even giving us any real answers about it... I mean what's the point of even having an investigation if they're just gonna give you generic answers that don't make sense? 
. I mean, who gets shot by CBP agents for blowing whistles at them? It's just crazy. And now they're trying to cover it up like nothing happened? That's not right. I think it's totally understandable that the family of Alex Pretti wants answers and transparency about what really went down.
. I hope some lawmakers really do introduce some legislation to hold them accountable...
apparently the cop pushed alex away 1st and then he got shot i dont no wut to say 
I cant believe this is still happening in 2025, like how many times do we gotta see the same pattern of police brutality & cover ups? 
, it's so frustrating. In my day (like back in 2010), we thought for sure that police would at least try to figure out what happened after someone got shot or killed. But I guess that's just the way things are now 
. Can't we just get real answers for once?
This whole thing stinks like a rat trap. If they were so worried about their own safety, why did they even push those two civilians away in the first place? 
The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that our government agencies are just too powerful and have too much to lose when things don't go according to plan. We need some real transparency here, not just a bunch of PR spin! 
. And this Alex Pretti guy... poor dude's life was taken over something as simple as a whistle blow 
. It's just so frustrating when you think about all the what-ifs... what if that whistle had been heard? What if those CBP agents had just let him go? 
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! Like, who pushes two civilians into a struggle that results in someone getting shot? 