The parents of Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old nurse fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis, have disputed the official account of the incident, calling the government’s description of events ‘sickening lies’. Pretti, a registered nurse in the intensive care unit at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System, was killed on Saturday amid a federal crackdown in Minnesota.
According to videos circulating online, Pretti appears to be filming officers and directing traffic, with his phone in one hand and his other hand raised. The footage shows him being pepper-sprayed, tackled, and then shot multiple times at close range by at least one officer. Pretti’s family and colleagues insist he was not armed and was trying to de-escalate the situation.
‘Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked,’ his parents, Michael and Susan Pretti, said in a statement. ‘He has his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down.’ They urged the public to ‘get the truth out about our son’.
Colleagues at the VA hospital described Pretti as a dedicated and compassionate nurse. ‘He wanted to help people,’ said Dr Dimitri Drekonja, who worked with him on a research project. ‘He was a super nice, super helpful guy – looked after his patients. I’m just stunned.’ Pretti had obtained his nursing license in 2021 and also assisted on scientific research.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara stated that Pretti’s only known previous interaction with law enforcement was for traffic tickets and that he was a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry. However, no weapon was visible in the videos of the incident. The killing marks the second fatal shooting by federal agents in Minneapolis this month.
