Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara says video shows no evidence that Alex Pretti brandished a weapon before he was fatally shot
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara says video shows no evidence that Alex Pretti brandished a weapon before he was fatally shot

The Minneapolis police chief has publicly contradicted federal claims in the fatal shooting of Alex Jeffrey Pretti, saying he has seen no evidence that Pretti brandished a firearm before he was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent.

Pretti, 37, was fatally shot early Saturday morning during a federal immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis. In an initial statement, the Department of Homeland Security suggested Pretti posed a threat to agents and was armed at the time of the encounter.

But Brian O'Hara, speaking Sunday on CNN’s Face the Nation, said the available video evidence does not support the claim that Pretti used or displayed a weapon in a threatening manner.

“I don’t have any evidence that I have seen that suggests that the weapon was brandished,” O’Hara said, adding that he personally reviewed the footage circulating online.

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Conflicting Accounts Over the Weapon

Federal officials have acknowledged that Alex Pretti legally owned a handgun and held a valid Minnesota license to carry. However, critics argue that possession alone does not establish a threat, especially when there is no clear evidence the weapon was drawn or pointed.

Video footage shared online appears to show Pretti holding a cellphone and filming before being pepper-sprayed, tackled, and pinned to the ground by multiple agents. In several clips, Pretti can be seen on the ground surrounded by five or six people restraining him when shots are fired.

While DHS maintains the agent acted in self-defense, it has not publicly released evidence showing Pretti using the gun in a threatening way.

FBI Director Declines to Characterize Threat

The issue was raised during a Fox News interview when host Maria Bartiromo pressed Kash Patel about the alleged threat.

Bartiromo asked how Pretti was threatening agents if he was filming with a camera and whether the handgun had been used in any way. Patel confirmed that the weapon is in federal custody but declined to describe how it factored into the threat assessment.

“That’s something I’ll let DHS and the prosecutors handle,” Patel said, adding that he did not want to mischaracterize evidence while investigations are ongoing.

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Federal Judge Orders Evidence Preserved

The dispute over evidence comes as a federal judge has intervened. Eric Tostrud, a Trump appointee, issued a temporary restraining order barring DHS from destroying or altering evidence related to the shooting.

The order followed a lawsuit filed by the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which accused federal agents of removing materials from the scene without turning them over to state investigators.

Minnesota officials say the preserved evidence is critical to determining whether deadly force was justified.

Read more: Border Patrol Agents Explained: Who They Are, What They Do, and How They Differ from ICE Agents

A Key Question Remains

As investigations continue, O’Hara’s remarks sharpen the central question in the case: whether Alex Pretti posed an immediate threat at the moment he was shot.

With state and federal authorities now openly at odds — and a judge ordering evidence preserved — the case is increasingly defined by conflicting interpretations of the same video evidence, leaving accountability unresolved.