A 37-year-old intensive care nurse was shot dead while confronting immigration agents in the second high-profile killing to take place during protests in Minnesota.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed Alex Pretti challenged Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers with a handgun as they carried out a targeted search in Minneapolis on Saturday.
But witnesses have given sworn testimony that he was holding a camera.
Donald Trump, the US president, blamed local politicians and police for the shooting, sharing a picture of the tan pistol Pretti was said to have concealed on Truth Social, and the DHS insisted that officers fired in self-defence after he resisted arrest.
The deadly shooting on Saturday came less than three weeks after Renee Good, a mother of three, was shot and killed in her car by an ICE agent, in equally disputed circumstances that triggered widespread protests.
The Telegraph has analysed first-person accounts and witness footage to provide a comprehensive view of the shooting, which casts doubt on the White House’s version of events.
ICE agents were deployed to Minneapolis as part of a large federal immigration enforcement operation launched by the DHS.
Around 2,000 agents were sent to the city for targeted arrests, raids and investigations related to illegal immigration and suspected fraud.
Following the death of Good on Jan 7, the agents faced fierce resistance from thousands of protesters, with tensions reaching a boiling point on Saturday.
Hundreds of protesters took to the streets to call for the immigration agents to leave the city, including Pretti, who had become frustrated with Mr Trump’s crackdown.
The first in a series of widely shared videos of the incident emerged at 9.03am, filmed from inside Glam Doll Donuts on 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue.
Moments later, several gunshots are heard, and the agents are seen springing to their feet.
Pretti is seen lying motionless on the floor. He was later confirmed dead by police at the scene.
The point of contention has centred on when the agents realised Pretti was armed, and whether they had shot him after his weapon was seized.
Slowing the footage down appears to reveal an officer retrieving Pretti’s 9mm pistol. But some of the agents seem unaware that he has been disarmed by their colleague. Amid the confusion, one officer is heard asking: “Where is the gun?”
The DHS claimed Pretti had confronted officers while holding a gun and two magazines as the officers were “looking for an illegal alien wanted for violent assault”.
In a statement, the agency said: “An individual approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun. The officers attempted to disarm the suspect, but the armed suspect violently resisted.
“Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, an agent fired defensive shots.”
However, a second video, filmed from the perspective of the woman in pink, appears to call into question this perspective.
The video begins with the piercing cries of whistles, a tactic used by anti-ICE protesters to distract federal officers during their patrols.
Moments later, a woman wearing a white coat is shoved into the snow before Pretti intervenes, being sprayed with a substance, most likely pepper-spray.
As he attempts to shield the woman, he is quickly wrestled to the floor by agents. By now, several more have arrived, and as many as six officers attempt to restrain him.
“The f— is wrong with you?” the person behind the camera is heard saying.
Then comes a moment of panic. Onlookers scream as the piercing sound of whistles is replaced by several gunshots.
The group of agents struggling to detain Pretti spring to their feet.
Pretti momentarily rises to his knees before falling to the floor, where he is shot again. As per the DHS statement, officers quickly administer first aid.
One agent slips and falls on the ice as he rushes to Pretti’s side, and it is still not clear where Pretti’s pistol is.
The woman in the pink coat gave sworn testimony on Saturday night, saying: “I didn’t see him with a gun. They threw him to the ground. Four or five agents had him on the ground and they just started shooting him. They shot him so many times.
Mr Doar said: “I believe it’s highly likely the first shot was a negligent discharge from the agent in the grey jacket after he removed the Sig P320 from Pretti’s holster while exiting the scene.”
On Saturday, Pretti’s family painted a picture of a law-abiding citizen who cared deeply about people. He had been upset, like the hundreds of others who had taken to the frigid streets, by the immigration crackdown in his city.
Pretti was an avid outdoorsman who loved going on adventures with Joule, his beloved Catahoula Leopard dog who also recently died.
He had participated in protests following the killing of Good earlier this month, according to his family.
“He cared about people deeply and he was very upset with what was happening in Minneapolis and throughout the United States with ICE, as millions of other people are upset,” said Michael Pretti, Alex’s father.
“He felt that doing the protesting was a way to express that, you know, his care for others.”
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