Alex Jeffrey Pretti, the 37-year-old man shot and killed by a US border patrol officer during a federal immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis on Saturday (local time), was an intensive care unit nurse at a Veterans Affairs hospital who family members say cared deeply about people and was distressed by President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
A US citizen born in Illinois, Pretti lived in south Minneapolis, about two miles from where the shooting occurred. Court records and family members said he had no criminal history apart from a few traffic tickets.
A nurse who ‘cared deeply about people’
Pretti worked for the US department of veterans affairs, caring for American veterans as an ICU nurse. His family said he was upset by immigration enforcement actions in Minneapolis and had participated in protests following the January 7 killing of Renée Good by an immigration and customs enforcement officer.
“He cared about people deeply and he was very upset with what was happening in Minneapolis and throughout the United States with ICE, as millions of other people are upset,” his father, Michael Pretti, told AP.
He added, “He thought it was terrible, you know, kidnapping children, just grabbing people off the street. He cared about those people, and he knew it was wrong, so he did participate in protests.”
Shooting and competing accounts
The department of homeland security said Pretti was shot after he approached border patrol officers with a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun. Officials did not specify whether the weapon was brandished.
Bystander videos that circulated online show Pretti holding a phone, with no visible firearm. Family members said Pretti legally owned a handgun and had a permit to carry a concealed weapon in Minnesota but said they had never known him to carry it.
‘Please get the truth out about our son’
Pretti’s parents, who live in Colorado, said they first learned of the shooting after being contacted by an AP reporter and later confirmed his death through the Hennepin county medical examiner. They said that as of Saturday evening, no federal law enforcement agency had contacted them directly.
After senior Trump administration officials suggested Pretti was a “domestic terrorist,” the family issued a written statement condemning those claims.
“The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting,” the statement said, adding that videos showed Pretti holding his phone and using his free hand to shield a woman being pepper-sprayed.
Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man,” the family said.
A life rooted in Minnesota
Pretti grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he played football, baseball and ran track. He was a Boy Scout and sang in the Green Bay Boy Choir.
He graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2011 with a degree in biology, society and the environment, worked as a research scientist, and later returned to school to become a registered nurse, according to his family.
Protests, politics and permits
Pretti’s ex-wife, speaking to the AP, said he was a Democratic voter and had taken part in protests following the 2020 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. She said he could be vocal at protests but was not physically confrontational.
She also said Pretti obtained a concealed-carry permit about three years ago and owned at least one semiautomatic handgun at the time of their separation.
‘He has a great heart’
Neighbors described Pretti as quiet, helpful and community-oriented. “He’s a wonderful person,” said Sue Gitar, who lived in the same building. “He has a great heart.”
They said he worked long hours as a nurse but regularly helped others in the building when issues arose.
An avid cyclist and outdoors enthusiast, Pretti was deeply attached to his dog, Joule, who died about a year ago. His parents said environmental issues also concerned him deeply.
“He loved this country, but he hated what people were doing to it,” his mother, Susan Pretti, said.
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