Trump says Alex Pretti shouldn't have carried a gun even though the law allowed him to. “He had two full magazines. This is very serious”

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Alex Pretti, the man fatally shot by an ICE agent during a standoff in Minneapolis, should not have been carrying a gun or loaded magazines, the White House leader's comments putting him at odds with gun rights groups and some Republicans.

Asked if he agreed with administration officials in Washington who described Pretti as a domestic terrorist, Trump said: “I haven't heard that, but he certainly shouldn't have been carrying a gun.”

Trump, speaking to reporters at an Iowa restaurant, later added: “He had a gun. I don't like that. He had two loaded magazines. That's very serious. And despite that, I would say it's … very unfortunate.”

Pretti, who had a concealed handgun permit, was killed by federal agents during an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis on Saturday. His shooting in the middle of the street provoked widespread criticism and led to a reorganization of the management of the field of immigration, ordered by the White House.

Gun rights groups, including the influential National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America, say Pretti was legally carrying a concealed weapon. An eyewitness video of Pretti's killing was widely shared, showing that he did not touch the gun before he was shot. The footage thus contradicts initial claims by some Trump officials that he posed a threat to law enforcement.

“You can walk around with a gun and you can protest peacefully while armed,” said Luis Valdes, a spokesman for Gun Owners of America, a gun rights lobby group. “It's a historic American tradition dating back to the Boston Tea Party.”

“We're not happy,” Valdes said of Trump's latest comments.

Gun rights groups are one of the Republican Party's most loyal voting blocs. Such statements by Trump and other administration officials have created a rift ahead of midterm elections scheduled for November.

Trump made the remarks Tuesday while greeting supporters at an Iowa restaurant ahead of a scheduled speech on the economy. He said his border chief, Tom Homan, had met with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and he was also expected to meet with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey later on Tuesday.

Homan, the “Border King” as he is known in the American press, is one of the main architects of the anti-immigration policy of the current Republican administration.