By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
In the aftermath of the shooting death of Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents working in Minneapolis, NBC News is reporting that interest in firearms courses for those wanting to apply for carry permits has increased dramatically.
According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, under state law, an applicant must “provide evidence of having received training in the safe use of a handgun from a certified instructor within one year of the original application or renewal.” The permit is required in order to carry a handgun in public, either openly or concealed. The permit is good for five years.
NBC News quoted David Taylor, CEO at the Stock & Barrel Gun Club, who said interest in classes since immigration enforcement officers descended on the city has grown to four times the normal level.
Pretti was licensed to carry, and video footage of him at the time he was killed, and a video which recently surfaced and is publicized by The Guardian—showing him at an earlier demonstration where he kicked the tail light off an unmarked ICE vehicle—reveal he was armed at both incidents.
NBC interviewed five firearms instructors in the Minneapolis area, and all said they have seen similar increased interest.
The situation in Minneapolis has become increasingly tense, and so has the debate on social media about the Pretti killing. Two agents involved in the shooting have been placed on leave pending a full investigation.
Comments from Trump administration officials following Pretti’s death have not squared well within the Second Amendment community. NBC News quoted Bryan Strawser, chairman of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, an affiliate of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, correcting statements made by FBI Director Kash Patel that being armed at a demonstration was not permitted.
Calling the statement “factually inaccurate,” Strawser told NBC, “It’s not illegal to bring a loaded gun to a protest. It happens all the time.”
It happens in other states as well.
Pretti had a carry permit, although there are reports he was carrying no identification last Saturday when he was killed.
Media attention to the firearms issue has been intense, with the focus being on an alleged rift between gun owners and the Trump administration, typically seen as allies. Whether this is an effort to make it appear a wedge is being driven between the Second Amendment community and Trump would be speculation. Gun owners understand who their friends and foes are on Capitol Hill.
Trump has said there will be a full investigation into the Pretti incident. Meanwhile, NBC News is also reporting that the Sig P320 AXG-Combat pistol Pretti was carrying when he was shot had been legally purchased.
