A Minneapolis pediatrician described watching a man – later identified as Alex Pretti – be shot by a federal agent on Saturday and criticized the federal officers at the scene for not checking the man’s pulse or beginning to perform CPR, according to a new filing in a lawsuit against the Trump administration brought by protesters in December.
“Checking for a pulse and administering CPR is standard practice. Instead of doing either of those things, the (federal immigration) agents appeared to be counting his bullet wounds,” a 29-year-old Minneapolis resident who says they are a licensed pediatrician said in a sworn declaration filed Saturday.
The pediatrician reported witnessing the shooting from the window of their apartment and described seeing federal agents shove a man who appeared to be unarmed to the ground and point their guns at him before shots were fired.
“Initially, I was stunned. From what I could see from my apartment, there was absolutely no need for any violence, let alone lethal force by multiple officers,” the pediatrician said.
The Department of Homeland Security said earlier that Border Patrol officers attempted to disarm an armed man who had approached them, and an agent fired defensive shots when the man “violently resisted.” Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino claimed the man was trying to “massacre law enforcement.”
After hurrying to the scene, the pediatrician said they were a doctor and asked federal agents to let them assess the man. The pediatrician said agents first asked for a physician’s license, but an agent eventually allowed access to the man.
The pediatrician said they saw the man surrounded by several federal agents with “at least three bullet wounds in his back” and was confused to see the man lying on his side because “that is not standard practice” for a person who has been shot.
When the man was turned onto his back, the pediatrician said they saw a gunshot wound to his chest and another to his neck. They found no pulse, and immediately began CPR until emergency services arrived.
“I do not feel safe in my city,” the pediatrician added, according to the filing. “In less than one month, ICE agents have shot and killed two people for protesting and observing their actions. I worry that I or someone I love will be shot and killed for voicing their displeasure and being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
CNN has reached out to lawyers for the witnesses and DHS for comment on the new filings.