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The Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation in the shooting death of Alex Pretti, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters on Friday.
"We’re looking at everything that would shed light on what happened that day and in the days and weeks leading up to what happened," Blanche said during a news conference on Friday. "That’s like any investigation that the Department of Justice and the FBI does every day. It means we’re looking at video, talking to witnesses, trying to understand what happened."
Blanche said that a recent video appearing to show Pretti spitting at federal agents and damaging a government SUV days before the shooting wouldn't impact the DOJ's perception of the investigation.
"I don't think a single video should change any perception that the Department of Justice may or may not have about that tragic occurrence last Saturday," Blanche said.
The DOJ's announcement is in line with what Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News' Sean Hannity on Thursday. The secretary said her department would follow the investigation that the FBI was leading and would continue to give them all necessary information.
A DHS spokesperson echoed this to Fox News Digital on Friday, saying, "[The] FBI is now leading the Pretti investigation with HSI supporting. This is separate from the CBP investigation."
Pretti was fatally shot on Jan. 17 during an interaction with U.S. Border Patrol personnel in Minneapolis, Minn.
Weeks before Pretti was fatally shot, federal agents had a deadly encounter with Renee Nicole Good. However, Blanche suggested that there would not be a civil rights investigation into her case, saying that the DOJ Civil Rights Division "does not investigate" every shooting and that "it depends on the circumstances." He did not go into specifics about why Pretti's death was being probed by the Civil Rights Division, but Good's was not.
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This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Rachel Wolf is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and FOX Business.
