Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem vowed Sunday to conduct a thorough investigation into the Border Patrol-related death of 37-year-old Alex Pretti, expressing sympathy for his family while questioning his actions at the scene.
"I'm grieved for them. I truly am. I can't even imagine losing a child," Noem said during an exclusive interview on "The Sunday Briefing."
"We can't have individuals that are impeding law enforcement operations and then showing up with guns and weapons and no ID and confronting law enforcement like that is one of the reasons that we see situations like this unfold," she continued.
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"I think everybody can learn from this situation. I'm grateful for law enforcement that put their lives on the line every day to go out there on the streets and try to bring criminals to justice and protect the public, and we'll continue to make sure the right thing is done, this investigation is completed, and that we continue to go forward, and we enforce the law and apply it equally to everybody in the country."
Noem previously defended the agent's actions as self-defense.
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Pretti's parents, Michael and Susan Pretti, responded after the incident Saturday, saying they are "heartbroken but also very angry," and condemned the version of events presented by law enforcement as "sickening lies."
"Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital," the couple wrote.
"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. 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," they continued.
