DOJ opens civil rights investigation into Minnesota death of Alex Pretti

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.

"FBI is now leading the Pretti investigation with HSI supporting. This is separate from the CBP investigation," a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Fox News Digital.

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. 

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.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.