UPDATE - Trump says they will ‘de-escalate a little bit’ in Minneapolis amid backlash over Alex Pretti’s killing

ADDS MORE REMARKS, CHANGES HEADLINE, LEDE

By Rabia Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that federal immigration enforcement efforts in Minneapolis will “de-escalate a little bit” as outrage grows over the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti.

“We’re going to de-escalate a little bit,” Trump said during an interview with Fox News, referring to a shake-up of personnel overseeing the operation now led by White House border czar Tom Homan, who he said can work cooperatively with governors and mayors.

“Tom is a tough guy, but I've watched over the years, and he's gotten along with governors and he gets along with mayors,” ​​​​​​​ he added.

Trump also described the recent fatal shooting of Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, as “terrible,” saying however that he did not like the fact that Pretti was carrying a gun, as tensions continued to escalate in Minnesota following deadly immigration enforcement operations.

“I think the whole thing is terrible,” he said, referring to Pretti’s killing during a targeted US Border Patrol operation Saturday in Minneapolis.

“I don't like the fact that he was carrying a gun that was fully loaded, and he had two magazines with them, and it's pretty unusual. But nobody knows when they saw the gun, how they saw the gun, everything else,” he added.

“Bottom line, it was terrible. Both of them were terrible,” he said, referring to Pretti and Renee Good, who was fatally shot earlier this month by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Minneapolis.

“And I'm not sure about his parents, but I know her (Good’s) parents were big Trump fans…They were tremendous Trump people, Trump fans.”

Trump also alleged that the recent unrest in Minnesota has been driven by “paid insurrectionists” and “paid agitators.”

Pretti’s family released a statement saying they were “heartbroken but also very angry,” describing him as a dedicated nurse and disputing government characterizations of the incident.

“Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs,” they said, referring to video footage of the incident circulating on social media.

“He has his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down all while being pepper sprayed. Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man. Thank you.”