The family of a 37-year-old US citizen shot dead by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis have lashed out at "sickening lies told” by the Trump administration.
According to Sky News, Alex Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse, was sprayed with irritants before being shot at least 10 times in just five seconds on Saturday, January 24.
In a statement, Pretti's family said the nurse, who cared for US veterans at the Minneapolis VA hospital, was a "kind-hearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends."
They added, "The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump's murdering and cowardly ICE thugs."
Instead, they say both his hands were visible and that he had been trying to protect a woman who had been pushed by federal officers.
However, those claims have been contested by key figures of Donald Trump's administration.
Hundreds of demonstrators have gathered for a vigil despite freezing conditions in Minneapolis after the shooting.
Tensions had already been riding high in Minneapolis over the presence of immigration and customs officers following the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good in the city weeks earlier.
After the shooting of Pretti, an angry crowd gathered and protesters clashed with federal immigration officers, who wielded batons and deployed flash bangs.
