What Even

Minneapolis Live Updates: Videos Appear to Contradict Federal Account of Killing

An I.C.U. nurse shot by federal agents was an American citizen with no criminal record, the city police chief said. A New York Times video analysis shows he was holding a phone, not a gun.

"An I.C.U. nurse shot by federal agents was an American citizen with no criminal record, the city police chief said. A New York Times video analysis shows he was holding a phone, not a gun."

More from Times reporting: Federal agents shot and killed a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident on Saturday morning, prompting renewed protests and clashes in a city where tensions have reached a breaking point after weeks of aggressive federal immigration enforcement. As dusk fell, Minnesota officials deployed the National Guard in an effort to prevent possible violence.

Colleagues and a senior law enforcement official identified the man who was shot as Alex Jeffrey Pretti, an intensive-care nurse. Videos analyzed by The New York Times appear to contradict the accounts of federal officials, who said Mr. Pretti approached Border Patrol agents with a handgun and the intent to “massacre” them.

Video footage shows Mr. Pretti stepping between a woman and an agent who is pepper spraying her. Other agents then pepper spray Mr. Pretti, who is holding a phone in one hand and nothing in the other. His concealed weapon is found only after he is restrained on the sidewalk, the videos show, and taken from him before the agents opened fire.

Federal officials posted images of the gun they said Mr. Pretti was carrying, and have blocked attempts by Minnesota law enforcement officers to investigate the encounter. Chief Brian O’Hara of the Minneapolis police said Mr. Pretti was an American citizen with no criminal record, and had a valid firearms permit, allowing him to openly carry a gun.