Government documents identify two federal officers who were shot dead Alex Pretty in Minneapolis Jesus Ochoa, a Border Patrol agent, and Raymundo Gutierrez, a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer. ProPublica.
According to those records, Ochoa, 43, and Gutierrez, 35, were the agents who fired their weapons during the confrontation that led to Pretti’s death last weekend. A firefight broke out widely Performances And renewed demands for criminal investigations into federal immigration enforcement actions. Soon after Pretti’s murder, the Trump administration Repeatedly pushed False claims About the shooting.
During the incident, both agents were involved Operation Metro Surglaunched a large-scale immigration enforcement initiative December. The operation deployed dozens of armed, masked agents across Minneapolis as part of a citywide sweep.
CBP, the agency that employs the two men, declined to publicly name the agents involved and released additional information about the shooting. The lack of transparency has increased scrutiny, especially since the incident happened just days after another immigration agent. Shot dead Another Minneapolis protester, Renee Gooda 37-year-old mother of three.
The secrecy surrounding Pretti’s death and the identity of the agents emerged amid a growing national debate over Donald Trump. Strict immigration policies. Enforcement actions in cities across the country have involved violent encounters involving both immigrants and US citizens carried out by controversial agents. permission to hide Their identification with masks.
Lawmakers from both parties called for a full and transparent investigation into the killing of Pretty, 37, who worked as an intensive care unit nurse at a Veterans Affairs hospital.
Earlier this week, CBP sent a notice to select members of Congress confirming that two agents discharged Glock pistols during the encounter that led to Pretty’s death, but redacted their names from the notice. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees CBP, said through a spokeswoman that the agents. He took leave After the shooting.
After days of protests and pressure from lawmakers, the Justice Department announced on Friday that its civil rights division is in place Investigation started.
Records show Ochoa joined CBP in 2018 as a border patrol agent, while Gutierrez began working for the agency in 2014. Gutierrez works in CBP’s Office of Field Operations and is part of a special response team that conducts high-risk missions similar to those performed by police SWAT units. Both men are from South Texas.
