Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident and intensive care unit nurse at the Veterans Affairs hospital, was shot and killed by federal agents on Saturday during an immigration enforcement operation in the city’s south side.
The parents of a U.S. citizen fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis over the weekend have described their son’s last moments as heroic, sharply disputing federal authorities’ account of the incident.
Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident and intensive care unit nurse at the Veterans Affairs hospital, was shot and killed by federal agents on Saturday during an immigration enforcement operation in the city’s south side.
The incident, the second fatal shooting by federal agents in Minneapolis in recent weeks, has sparked protests and intensified debate over immigration enforcement tactics.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara confirmed the man’s death, saying he was taken to a hospital with multiple gunshot wounds and later died. Officials identified him as a U.S. citizen with a background in nursing.
In a statement, Pretti’s parents, Michael and Susan Pretti, expressed profound grief and anger, portraying their son as a compassionate caregiver whose final act was to help another person.
“We are heartbroken but also very angry,” the parents said. “Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital. Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately he will not be with us to see his impact.”
They rejected the federal narrative, saying Pretti was unarmed and trying to protect someone else when he was killed.
“I do not throw around the hero term lightly,” they said. “However his last thought and act was to protect a woman. The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He had 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 all while being pepper sprayed.”
They urged the public and media to “get the truth out about our son,” adding, “He was a good man.”
The Department of Homeland Security has defended its agents’ actions, saying a Border Patrol officer fired in self-defence after the man approached officers with a handgun, a characterization disputed by bystander video and local officials who say footage shows Pretti holding only a cellphone before the shooting.
The fatal shooting has heightened tensions in Minneapolis, where federal immigration enforcement actions have drawn large protests and criticism from local leaders.