CBS News has confirmed per a federal law enforcement official that federal agents who were involved in Saturday's deadly shooting of U.S. citizen Alex Pretti in Minneapolis have been placed on administrative leave.
It is unclear exactly when the personnel were placed on leave, according to the report.
Typically, federal law-enforcement agents who have been engaged in an officer-involved, shooting are placed on administrative leave during the course of the investigation. That is protocol, as it is for local law enforcement actions as well.
The action does directly contradict what Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino announced immediately after the shooting over the weekend, telling reporters that CBP officers were still on the job, but working in a different city for their safety.
The federal officers involved have not been named.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday a “big investigation” was underway into the killing Pretti.
“I want to see the investigation. I’m going to be watching over it, and I want a very honorable and honest investigation. I have to see it myself,” the president said as he left the White House.
The comment is the latest marker of Trump’s sudden turnabout on the issue as his administration confronts growing pushback — including from some Republicans and Second Amendment advocates — on federal agents’ tactics in the second fatal shooting from the aggressive immigration operation in Minnesota.
A day earlier, the White House made an effort to distance Trump from some early comments by high-ranking administration officials who had branded Pretti as a domestic terrorist despite videos of the encounter contradicting their narrative.
Immigration agents were active Tuesday across the Twin Cities region, but it was unclear if officials had changed tactics after the shift in tone from the White House.