The National Rifle Association (NRA) criticized comments by a senior federal prosecutor warning that approaching law enforcement with a gun could justify a fatal police response, saying such statements risk “demonizing law‑abiding citizens” as the nation reels from the killing of a man in Minneapolis by a U.S. border agent.

The NRA was responding to remarks by Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, who said that “if you approach law enforcement with a gun, there is a high likelihood they will be legally justified in shooting you,” adding, “Don’t do it.”

In a statement, the gun‑rights group called that view “dangerous and wrong,” urging public officials to refrain from broad generalizations and to wait for the outcome of a full investigation into Alex Pretti’s death.