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Footage appears to show officer disarming Alex Pretti prior to shooting
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Barack Obama has released a statement following the fatal shooting of 37-year-old intensive care nurse Alex Pretti by an ICE agent.
On Saturday (24 January), American citizen Pretti was shot and killed by United States Immigration agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota during a protest against the agency’s ongoing presence and violence in the city.
A nurse with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Pretti’s death comes just over two weeks after 37-year-old mother of three Renee Nicole Good was similarly shot and killed by federal agents.
The most recent killing by an ICE agent has amplified protests against ICE’s presence on American streets.
While the Donald Trump administration has sought to justify both killings, former leaders have criticised the actions.
In a joint statement shared in conjunction with his wife and former First Lady Michelle Obama, former president Barack Obama shared their view, urging for this moment to be a “wake-up call”.
“The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault,” the Obamas shared.
The statement continued: “For weeks now, people across the country have been rightly outraged by the spectacle of masked ICE recruits and other federal agents acting with impunity and engaging in tactics that seem designed to intimidate, harass, provoke and endanger the residents of a major American city.”
“And yet rather than trying to impose some semblance of discipline and accountability over the agents they've deployed, the President and current administration officials seem eager to escalate the situation, while offering public explanations for the shootings of Mr. Pretti and Renee Good that aren't informed by any serious investigation-and that appear to be directly contradicted by video evidence,” they added.
Concluding the statement, they urged Americans to continue to use the right to peaceful protest.
“They are a timely reminder that ultimately it's up to each of us as citizens to speak out against injustice, protect our basic freedoms, and hold our government accountable,” the statement finished.
Many were left wondering why the current president wasn’t taking the same tone.
One wrote: “Decency prevailed in the Obama era.
“Deceit, demagoguery, fascism, and authoritarianism define the Trump era. Which side of history are you on?”
Someone else wrote: “In case you forgot what it sounds like when the President is intelligent and has a heart and soul.”
Another argued: “This is how a President responds. Not with all Caps like a whiny b**ch on their own social media platform.”
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