NY Times, Wall St. Journal Run In-Depth Analyses of Shooting Video — Both Conclude Footage Seems to Contradicts Govt. Account

The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal both dissected video of border patrol officers gunning down Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti , and both analyses found that the footage appears to contradict the Trump administration’s contention that the officers fired in self-defense.

Shortly after the shooting Saturday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called Pretti a “domestic terrorist” who “brandished” a weapon and intended to “kill law enforcement.”

Widely-circulated video showed Pretti using a phone to record the border patrol officers’ actions when he was sprayed with a chemical agent, tackled, and shot multiple times.

“The footage seems to contradict the Department of Homeland Security’s account of the event, which the agency said began after the victim approached the federal agents with a handgun and the intent to ‘massacre’ them,” The Times wrote in its report.

The Times broke down the video frame by frame. Some of the key moments:

25 seconds before the shooting: “Mr. Pretti is holding his phone in one hand, and he holds his other hand up to protect against the spray.”

17 seconds before: “Several agents grab at Mr. Pretti, who is still holding his phone. Additional agents approach and attempt to pin Mr. Pretti to the ground.”

11 seconds before: “Mr. Pretti is surrounded by a group of seven agents, some of whom have wrestled him to the ground. One of the agents…grabs at Mr. Pretti, while the other agents hold him down on his knees. At the same time, another agent strikes Mr. Pretti repeatedly with a pepper spray canister.”

1 second before: “The agent…appears to pull a gun from near Mr. Pretti’s right hip. He then begins to move away from the skirmish with the recovered weapon. At the same time, another agent unholsters his firearm and points it at Mr. Pretti’s back.”

The report continued, “Then, while Mr. Pretti is on his knees and restrained, the agent standing directly above him appears to fire one shot at Mr. Pretti at close range. He immediately fires three additional shots,” the report said. “Together, they fire six more shots at Mr. Pretti while he lies motionless on the ground.”

The Times report concluded that “At least 10 shots appear to have been fired within five seconds.”

The Wall Street Journal report also concluded, “Bystander footage appears to tell a different story,” than the Trump administration’s claims. “A frame-by-frame review by The Wall Street Journal shows a federal officer pulling a handgun away from Pretti. Less than a second later, an agent fires several rounds. Pretti died at the scene.”

“As a struggle ensues, agents pull Pretti from the other [protesters]; at least five masked DHS agents surround him and force him to the ground. Bystander footage shows one agent drawing his firearm and pointing it at Pretti,” the report said.

“Around the same time, a different video verified by the Journal shows Pretti pinned to the ground and agents appear to discover a firearm on him…Less than a second later, one of the agents fires his weapon toward Pretti—the first of at least 10 shots within 5 seconds.”

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet Newsletter
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!