Paul Perez says the Border Patrol union expects the agent who shot Pretti to be justified
Paul PerezPresident of the National Border Patrol Council
Paul Perez, president of the National Border Patrol Council, discusses the Border Patrol agent's decision to shoot in Minneapolis, on ABC News Live, Jan. 27, 2026.
Excerpt from 6:20 to 7:04 of the ABC News video. Taken from ABC News's own video page. The ABC News YouTube upload cited for this source shows the same video. DI added its logo in the corner.
Video: ABC News. Excerpt used for news reporting and commentary
Watch the full original video (opens in a new tab) (relevant passage: About 6:41 to 6:58 in the 9-minute video, in the answer to the anchor's question about whether the shooting was justified)
Paul Perez, president of the National Border Patrol Council, said in an ABC News interview that the union believes the agent who shot Alex Pretti will be justified, and that the agent must give a statement to investigators explaining why he fired.
“But at the end of the day, we've got to make sure that he gives his statement and talks to the authorities and identifies why he took the shots. And we believe he will be justified at the end of the day, based on the totality of the circumstances.”
Interview
Where this statement fits
Were Border Patrol Agent Jesus Ochoa and CBP Officer Raymundo Gutierrez justified in fatally shooting Alex Pretti?
On January 24, 2026, during Operation Metro Surge, a federal immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis, Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and CBP officer Raymundo Gutierrez fired approximately ten shots that killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System. Pretti, who was lawfully carrying a handgun, had been filming federal agents and moved to help a woman whom an agent had pushed to the ground. Agents pepper-sprayed and pinned Pretti to the ground; bystander video reviewed by multiple news organizations shows an agent removing a handgun from Pretti's waistband roughly a second before the first shots were fired. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said Pretti approached officers with a 9mm handgun, that officers attempting to disarm him met violent resistance, and that agents fired defensive shots fearing for their lives. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office ruled Pretti's death a homicide on February 2, 2026. ProPublica identified the two agents on February 1, 2026; both were placed on administrative leave, and the Department of Justice opened a federal civil rights investigation. Discussing the shooting and the earlier fatal shooting of Renee Good in an NBC News interview, President Trump said "he was not an angel and she was not an angel," but when asked whether that justified what happened to them, he answered "No. I don't" and said "it should've not happened." The shooting sparked large protests in Minneapolis and other U.S. cities and preceded the administration's announced drawdown of Operation Metro Surge. As of September 2026, the federal civil rights investigation remains active with no public charging decision against either agent.
Source and context
Interview
About this source
ABC News video of an interview with Paul Perez, president of the National Border Patrol Council, about the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Watch the clip from this source at the top of the page.
Before the quotation
Perez was answering an ABC News anchor who asked whether the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis was justified, given video that did not appear to show a threat.
After the quotation
In the same interview, Perez said an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI was underway and that law enforcement officers are trained to react to weapons.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case asks whether the agents were justified in fatally shooting Alex Pretti. Asked directly whether the shooting was justified, Perez says the union believes the agent will be justified based on the totality of the circumstances, while saying the agent still has to give his account to investigators. That is an argument that the shooting was justifiable, so we used Defended or excused.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Jesus Ochoa, Raymundo Gutierrez
More from this case
Read the full caseSteven Young calls Alex Pretti's killing a murder and blames Klobuchar's support for ICE
“Klobuchar's continued support for ICE renders her complicit in the ethnic cleansing of our neighbors here, and an accomplice after the fact to the murder of Alex and Renee.”Read statement
Amy Klobuchar says Alex Pretti should still be alive
“They should be alive today.”Read statement
Trump on Pretti and Good: 'It should've not happened'
“No. I don't. I -- it should've not happened. It was a very sad -- to me it was a very sad incident, two incidents.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Paul Perez says the Border Patrol union expects the agent who shot Pretti to be justified". First published: 2026-09-26. Last updated: 2026-09-26. https://disputeindex.com/events/2847-paul-perez-president-of-the-national-border-patrol