The Trump administration is facing accusations of trying to obscure the details of a Minneapolis Border Patrol shooting by quickly issuing a controversial statement that reportedly lacked consensus.

Just hours after the incident, which occurred at 9 a.m. on Saturday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) addressed the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti.

The agency’s statement asserted that the Border Patrol officer involved acted in self-defense, claiming that Pretti was armed at the time he was shot.

DHS also released an image of a nine-millimeter semi-automatic handgun, stating that Pretti had “approached” with the weapon, leading to a “violent” confrontation.

However, video footage from the scene has prompted officials, including Governor Tim Walz, to question DHS’s account, as the video does not seem to show Pretti wielding a gun. It has later come to light that Pretti was a legal gun owner.

A DHS source told the Daily Mail that while licensed to carry a weapon, Pretti never touched his weapon. The insider expressed frustration that colleagues had raced to get a statement out at the potential cost of accuracy.

‘They rushed to put out an announcement that no one agreed with,’ the DHS insider claimed. ’The department is trying to justify this quickly.

‘Minnesota allows people to carry firearms and this individual never pulled out his firearm.’ 

The Department of Homeland Security said the Border Patrol agent who killed Alex Pretti, 37, was acting defensively – but this account has been queried by state officials

Pretti is seen facing off with federal agents before he was shot dead. Insiders at the Department of Homeland Security expressed concern the agency rushed to get a statement out without understanding the facts

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told the Daily Mail that the suspect was armed with two magazines, and that the gun has since been recovered by federal authorities 

The source claimed that veteran DHS employees have been left quietly horrified by the direction the department is taking and raised fears the situation bares concerning echoes of the shooting of Renee Nicole Good.

Good, 37, was shot at point blank range in her car by an Immigration Customs Enforcement Agent in Minneapolis earlier this month.

‘Career employees who would like to follow protocol and policy are being disregarded,’ the source said.

‘It’s the same issue as the last shooting. They are not following protocol, which is to conduct an investigation and decide whether or not the shooting is justified. The administration just wants to get out and say that it was justified as quickly as possible.

‘If you notice from the last shooting, the White House has stopped that investigation and told the FBI not to investigate,’ the source continued. 

‘So now we have another shooting on the Border Patrol side and again, they want to rush a statement out, justifying the behavior without looking into whether or not it was a good shot.’ 

A protester appeared to be detained after an Border Patrol agent reportedly shot a man several times in Minneapolis

DHS said an agent had his finger bitten by a protester amid violent clashes following Pretti’s death

Meanwhile a Border Patrol agent told the Daily Mail that it was becoming increasingly difficult to do the job due to protesters and legal observers.

‘It’s been absolutely rough. I’m so done,’ said one female Border Patrol agent, who was not involved in today’s incident.

‘F*** all those people. When we are trying to do our investigation they come and blow whistles and honk to alert everyone and then we can’t get the actually people we are targeting and they follow us honking and just making things way worse.

‘We give them a warning that they’re impeding an investigation and if they continue to follow us and impede they get arrested so we can do our job.’

Authorities said they were in pursuit of Ecuadorian man Jose Huerta-Chuma when Pretti was shot.

Border Patrol Cmdr. Greg Bovino said he has a lengthy criminal past including domestic assault, disorderly conduct and driving offenses, the Star Tribune reported.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said alleged rioters who turned up to protest following Pretti’s death clashed violently with agents, with one biting an officer so severely he will ‘lose his finger’.

DHS boss Kristi Noem’s department came under fire from one of its own who claimed there are behind the scenes concerns about protocol being abandoned

Gas canisters were thrown through the air by immigration enforcement amidst rising protests

A federal agent and a protestor pictured face to face amidst widespread protests

The situation is one that resonates with the female Border Patrol agent who described being in fear all the time. 

‘An agent and Office of Field Operations officer got locked in an Indian restaurant and the owner called agitators to swarm the building and so the agents had to call a specialty team to extract them from the restaurant. It was like f***ing Iraq,’ she said. 

The Daily Mail has contacted DHS for comment.