President Donald Trump said his administration was “going to de-escalate a little bit” in Minnesota, after the second fatal shooting of a US citizen by federal immigration officers there.
“Bottom line, it was terrible. Both of them were terrible,” he said in a Fox News interview on Tuesday.
In early January Renee Good was fatally shot by an immigration officer, followed by Alex Pretti, who was killed after being stopped by border agents this past weekend.
Pretti’s death reignited local protests and public outcry across the country, and led to criticism from lawmakers in both parties. Trump’s remarks are the latest sign his administration is taking a step back on its operations in Minnesota.
Speaking to other reporters ahead of a rally in Iowa Tuesday night, Trump said he viewed the killing of Pretti, an intensive care nurse at a veterans’ hospital, as “a very unfortunate incident”.
Asked by reporters about whether he agreed with characterisations of Pretti as a “domestic terrorist,” Trump said: “I haven’t heard that.”
Trump then added: “He shouldn’t have been carrying a gun.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said shortly after the shooting that Pretti “wasn’t there to peacefully protest, he was there to perpetuate violence,” and accused him of “domestic terrorism”.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has also said the agents fired in self-defence, after Pretti resisted attempts to disarm him.
Noem said Pretti was shot because he was “brandishing” a gun during a confrontation, but local authorities said the gun was legally registered and that Pretti was shot after the firearm was removed.
Eyewitnesses and local officials, however, have challenged that account, saying he had a phone in his hand, not a weapon.
A preliminary report drafted by Customs and Border Protection also appears to contradict the initial DHS account of events. It says two of its agents fired their weapons at Pretti.
