KEATING STATEMENT ON LATEST ICE SHOOTING IN MINNEAPOLIS

BOURNE, MA  - Congressman Bill Keating issued the following statement this evening in response to today's shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis:

"Watch the videos. Share them. Count the shots. It’s not easy to watch - and it shouldn’t be. But every American must understand what federal agents are doing in our names. Alex Pretti and Renee Good should be alive today. The statements by Trump officials are false on their face. Secretary Noem again labeled this victim as a terrorist. Steven Miller called him an assassin.

"Believe your eyes. The videos clearly show the murder of a VA nurse who was observing ICE enforcement actions and happened to be legally carrying a weapon that he never pulled and had been taken from him before he was shot to death. That’s what the videos show.

"As a former district attorney who has led investigations into police shootings, there needs to be a complete and thorough independent investigation without obstruction from DHS to determine exactly what happened. The federal agents responsible for this unjustified killing of another US citizen should be held criminally accountable to the full extent of the law if that is what the investigation concludes.

"The Administration needs to reverse the surge of ICE in our cities, and my Republican counterparts need to grow a backbone. As the majority in full control of Congress, they have a Constitutional obligation to call for and conduct oversight hearings and shut this down.

"Most importantly, my thoughts are with Alex Pretti’s family as they mourn the loss of a man who went to work every day to care for our veterans at the VA and was on the streets today because he cared about his neighbors."