Claims by Trump administration officials that the man fatally shot by a federal agent in Minneapolis lacked a right to possess a firearm and that his killing was justified are being dismissed by legal experts and assailed by gun rights groups ordinarily aligned with the president.

While speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Trump threw cold water on a description from White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller that Alex Pretti — the 37-year-old intensive care nurse who was killed by a U.S. Border Patrol officer on Saturday — was acting like an “assassin.”

The National Rifle Association and others have argued citizens need guns to fend off government. The killing of Alex Jeffrey Pretti, who carried a pistol, set off debate.

Shots rang out in Minneapolis early Saturday after federal police tried to subdue a man who was waving around a gun, according to law enforcement sources and video posted to social media.

The Herald spoke to four scholars who reflected on historical, global and economic factors that contribute to gun violence and how these influences may have played a part in the mass shooting.

The 18-year-old involved in the deadly METRO bus shooting on Jan. 7 is now facing federal weapons charges following the investigation into the incident.

In the one year since the Antioch High School shooting, data shows there have been dozens of school-related gun incidents in Tennessee.

The NRA defended the Second Amendment rights of Alex Pretti after Trump administration claims he was wrong to carry firearm at anti-ICE demonstration.