Fact Check: Is video of federal officer looking for weapon after Alex Pretti's shooting real?
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: Following the fatal shooting of Minneapolis nurse, Alex Pretti, by a federal agent during an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis on January 24, a video related to the incident has been going viral, in which an officer is seen searching Alex for weapons, implying whether he was carrying a gun. Let us examine the video and fact-check the claim.
Claim: Video shows Alex Pretti had a gun when he was shot
Much of the early online discussion after the shooting focused on whether Pretti was armed and what part, if any, a weapon played in the incident.
The clip depicts one of the officers searching Pretti's body and saying, "I need… I need scissors." He tells a woman standing nearby, "I'm an E.M.T. as well, ma'am."
He says, "Where …?" stopping for a moment and slightly sitting up, then continues, "Where's the f***ing gun? Where's the gun?"
After asking the question at least twice, the officer looks up and points to his right to confirm with another officer standing at a distance next to a vehicle, "You've got the gun?" The other officer responds, "I've got the gun."
Fact Check: The video is authentic
In short, the video is authentic and shows no signs of being changed using artificial intelligence or other digital tools.
It was confirmed that the video came from Bring Me the News, an online publication based in Minnesota. Editor and co-owner Adam Uren told Snopes that one of the reporters recorded the clip.
He stated that Bring Me the News first published the video at the end of an article and later shared a high-quality version through a Dropbox link for other news outlets.
Uren also confirmed that Bring Me the News had not posted the video on social media up to this point.
The clip shows the same vehicles, street signs, and people as other footage from the shooting location. This further confirms it was filmed during the incident.
The 2:13 mark of a different video, first shared by Drop Site News, shows the same moment with the officer asking the question, albeit with fainter audio.
Alex Pretti had permit to carry gun
On the day of the shooting, Minneapolis police Chief Brian O'Hara told reporters at a news conference that Pretti's only known interactions with law enforcement before the shooting were for traffic tickets and that he was believed to be a 'lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.'
The Associated Press reported that Pretti's family said he owned a handgun and had a permit to carry it concealed in Minnesota.
