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A screenshot from a Reuters video shows a law enforcement officer spraying irritants at a man identified as Alex Pretti before he was fatally shot while federal agents attempted to detain him in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 24, 2026. — Reuters
MINNEAPOLIS: The American citizen fatally shot by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis over the weekend was a dedicated ICU nurse at a local veterans’ hospital, family members shared. Pretti, 37, was engaged in a struggle with immigration officials on a slick, icy roadway less than three weeks after an ICE officer shot and killed Renee Good, also 37, in her vehicle.
This incident reignited protests and drew criticism from local officials who challenged the Trump administration’s initial claims that Pretti posed a threat to federal agents during demonstrations against broad immigration enforcement measures.
Pretti’s parents described him as “a gentle soul who deeply cared for his family, friends, and patients at the Minneapolis VA hospital.” They added, “Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Sadly, he won’t be here to see the impact he could have made.”
Dimitri Drekonja, leading the Infectious Diseases Section at Minneapolis VA and a colleague of Pretti’s, spoke of his character: “He was a genuinely kind person who lived to help others. He had such a positive attitude. We’d often talk about going for mountain bike rides together—something that will now never happen.”
Pretti graduated from high school in Green Bay, Wisconsin, in 2006, and later attended nursing school before joining the VA. Although authorities painting him as a violent threat have tried to frame him as aggressive, video footage widely aired by U.S. media—though unverified by AFP—seems to contradict these claims.
His parents stated that Pretti stepped in to shield a woman protester from a shove by a federal officer shortly before he was shot. They criticized the Trump administration’s “sickening lies” and emphasized that the firearm found on Pretti, which officials said he was licensed to carry, was not in his hand at the time he was shot.
“The evidence clearly shows Alex was not holding a gun when he was attacked by the aggressive ICE officers,” his parents asserted. “He had his phone in his right hand and his left hand raised above his head to protect the woman being pushed down, all while being pepper-sprayed.” They urged the public to uncover the truth about their son, describing him as “a good man,” and expressed their profound grief and anger.
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