Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center, was shot and killed by Border Patrol officers on Saturday in a confrontation the Trump administration characterized as a “domestic terrorist” attack. His family and colleagues disputed that account, describing the 37-year-old as a compassionate caregiver whose only documented offense was protesting the administration’s immigration crackdown.
The killing marks the second fatal shooting of a Minneapolis resident by federal officers in as many weeks, following the January 7 death of Renee Good at the hands of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. The incidents have intensified tensions between the Trump administration and Minneapolis over immigration enforcement.
Alex Pretti remembered as devoted caregiver and outdoorsman
An intensive care nurse who worked at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center was remembered Sunday by family members, colleagues, and neighbors as a devoted caregiver and environmental advocate, as his family vehemently disputed the Trump administration’s characterization of him following his death during a confrontation with Border Patrol officers.
Alex Pretti, 37, was shot and killed by Border Patrol officers on Saturday. The Department of Homeland Security said he approached the officers with a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun. His family said bystander videos of the incident contradicted that account, showing him holding a phone rather than a visible weapon.
“The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting,” the Pretti family said in a written statement released Sunday. “He was a good man.”
The family’s account pointed to the videos as evidence. According to the statement, Pretti was not holding a gun when federal agents tackled him but was holding his phone in one hand and using the other hand to shield a woman who was being pepper-sprayed. “Please get the truth out about our son,” the family said.
Character and community
Those who worked alongside Pretti at the VA hospital remembered him as skilled and compassionate. Mac Randolph, whose father Terrance Lee Randolph received care from Pretti before his death in 2024, described the nurse as exemplary. “He was extremely knowledgeable and caring,” Randolph said. “He treated my father and our family with the utmost dignity and respect. He was truly one of the best of us.”
Sue Gitar, a neighbor who lived in the same four-unit condominium building as Pretti, described him as warmhearted and helpful. “He’s a wonderful person,” Gitar said. “He has a great heart.” She said she was surprised by suggestions that he might carry a firearm on the street. “I never thought of him as a person who carried a gun,” she said.
Pretti had obtained a permit to carry a concealed handgun in Minnesota about three years before the shooting, according to his ex-wife. He owned at least one semiautomatic handgun when they separated more than two years ago. His family said they had never known him to carry the weapon, and Gitar said his neighbors were similarly unaware that he did.
Background and advocacy
Pretti was a U.S. citizen born in Illinois. Court records show he had no criminal record beyond traffic tickets. He grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he played football and baseball, ran track, 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. He worked as a research scientist before returning to school to become a registered nurse.
His father, Michael Pretti, told the Associated Press that his son was deeply empathetic of those he saw as mistreated. “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,” Michael Pretti said.
Pretti participated in protests following the January 7 killing of Renee Good, a Minneapolis resident shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. His ex-wife, who spoke to the Associated Press but requested anonymity, said Pretti was a Democratic voter who had also taken part in street protests following the 2020 killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. She described him as someone who might shout at law enforcement at a protest but said he had never been physically confrontational.
Pretti’s mother, Susan Pretti, said her son was passionate about the environment and deeply opposed the Trump administration’s rollback of environmental regulations. “He hated that people were just trashing the land,” she said. “He was an outdoorsman. He took his dog everywhere he went. You know, he loved this country, but he hated what people were doing to it.”
He was an avid cyclist and competitor who carefully maintained his Audi. He had been deeply attached to his Catahoula Leopard dog, named Joule, who died about a year before the shooting.
Family’s efforts for answers
Pretti’s parents told their son about two weeks before the shooting to be careful when protesting. “We had this discussion with him two weeks ago or so, you know, that go ahead and protest, but do not engage, do not do anything stupid, basically,” Michael Pretti said. “And he said he knows that. He knew that.”
The family first learned of the shooting when contacted by an Associated Press reporter. They watched video of the incident and believed they saw their son. When they attempted to contact law enforcement officials for information, they encountered difficulty. “I can’t get any information from anybody,” Michael Pretti said Saturday. “The police, they said call Border Patrol, Border Patrol’s closed, the hospitals won’t answer any questions.”
Eventually, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner confirmed they had a body matching the name and description of their son. As of Saturday evening, the family said they had still not heard from anyone at a federal law enforcement agency about Pretti’s death.
As light snow fell over Minneapolis on Sunday morning, community members gathered at the site of the shooting. They lit candles, laid fresh flowers, and assembled pine cones to read “Long live Alex Pretti.” A few Minneapolis police cars stood nearby.
The incident marks the second fatal shooting of a Minneapolis resident by federal officers in as many weeks, deepening scrutiny of federal immigration enforcement in the city and beyond.