Two Border Patrol agents placed on leave over Alex Pretti killing

Two Border patrol officers involved in the shooting of Alex Pretti have been placed on leave.

Pretti, a US citizen, was shot and killed in Minneapolis on Saturday (24 January), in an incident which has sparked protests about ICE.

A Customs and Border Patrol spokesperson said that 'two officers involved are on administrative leave' and that this is 'standard protocol'.

It remains unclear when the agents were placed on leave, as Scott Sweetow, a former special agent in charge for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, says it's due to 'protection'.

"That's both to protect the agency, to protect the person and frankly to protect the public from someone who may really be rattled when they're out there because they've had to use deadly force and you don't want them back out there engaging in a situation where they could use deadly force again," Sweetow said, according to the BBC.