A man who was shot dead by federal agents in Minneapolis has been identified by his family as 37-year-old intensive care nurse Alex Pretti.
He has been described as an avid outdoorsman who loved mountain biking and is understood to have joined protests after Renee Good, also 37, was shot dead by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in her car earlier this month.
Conflicting accounts have emerged about the moments leading up to his death. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said an agent fired in self-defence after Pretti, who they claim had a handgun, resisted attempts to disarm him. Some eyewitnesses and officials, as well as Pretti's family, have challenged that account.
Pretti worked as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs hospital. His family stated he was unsettled by President Trump's crackdown on immigration. His mother mentioned that he cared deeply about the rollback of environmental regulations.
He hated that, you know, people were just trashing the land, Susan Pretti told the Associated Press. 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.
The family noted he had no significant interactions with law enforcement beyond traffic tickets and was considered a lawful gun owner, possessing a permit to carry. They expressed shock and outrage over the portrayal of their son, demanding the truth be known.
After viewing videos suggesting their son was a domestic terrorist, they issued a statement saying, the sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting and affirmed that he was a kind-hearted man.
Neighbors described Pretti as warm-hearted and caring, saying he was not someone to engage in violence. With a strong community presence, his death has sparked emotional responses and a push for accountability regarding the events leading up to the shooting.
