“All Alex ever wanted was to help someone — anyone,” Micayla Pretti said of her late brother after he was fatally shot by federal officers in Minneapolis on Saturday, Jan. 24
The sister of Alex Pretti said it’s been “gut-wrenching” to hear “disgusting lies” spread about her brother, as she paid tribute to him after he was fatally shot by federal officers in Minneapolis.
Micayla Pretti issued a statement on Monday, Jan. 26, calling her late brother a hero, according to the Associated Press. “All Alex ever wanted was to help someone — anyone,” she said, per the news agency. “Even in his very last moments on this earth, he was simply trying to do just that.”
ICU nurse Pretti, 37, “touched more lives than he probably ever realized” through his work at the Veterans Administration, Micayla added, the outlet reported.
Without going into too much detail, Micayla criticized the misinformation being spread about her brother, insisting, “When does this end? How many more innocent lives must be lost before we say enough?” per the AP.
“Hearing disgusting lies spread about my brother is absolutely gut-wrenching,” she continued, according to the news agency.
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a statement on X following Pretti’s death on Jan. 24, which claimed that an individual had “approached U.S. Border Patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun” and “violently resisted” an attempt to disarm him. An agent then “fired defensive shots” at Pretti, per the statement.
Customs and Border Protection didn’t immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for comment.
However, footage verified by The New York Times appeared to contradict the DHS’s account of the situation. This shows Pretti standing among a group of protesters with both hands visible, while holding his phone in one hand as an agent squirted pepper spray at the group.
Several agents then approached Pretti, who didn’t seem to be holding or pulling a weapon as he was pinned on the sidewalk.
Micayla’s comments come after Pretti’s parents, Michael and Susan, also shared a statement to say, “We are heartbroken but also very angry.”
They said their son “was a kindhearted soul,” adding that he “wanted to make a difference in this world.”
“Unfortunately, he will not be with us to see his impact,” Pretti’s parents shared.
The statement said, “The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting.” Pretti’s parents stated that their son was “clearly not holding a gun” when he was attacked.
“Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man. Thank you,” the statement concluded.
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Six witnesses have recalled the shooting and medical care Pretti received in submitted affidavits obtained by PEOPLE.
One witness, an unidentified 29-year-old licensed pediatrician, recalled attempting to offer medical care to Pretti, who they said they could tell was in “critical condition.”
The doctor alleged the agents wouldn’t let them through at first and had “repeatedly asked” for a physician’s license.
The witness said in the court papers, “I insisted that the agents let me assess him. Normally, I would not have been so persistent, but as a physician, I felt a professional and moral obligation to help this man, especially since none of the agents were helping him.”
One agent eventually let the doctor “assess the victim” after they “patted” them down to make sure they “didn’t have a weapon,” the document stated.
“As I approached, I saw that the victim was lying on his side and was surrounded by several ICE agents. I was confused as to why the victim was on his side, because that is not standard practice when a victim has been shot,” the witness added.
“Checking for a pulse and administering CPR is standard practice,” they continued. “Instead of doing either of those things, the ICE agents appeared to be counting his bullet wounds. I asked the ICE agents if the victim had a pulse, and they said they did not know.”
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The physician said the victim had “at least three bullet wounds in his back.” They then asked officers “to turn the victim from his side to his back,” before the doctor noticed “an additional gunshot wound on the victim’s upper left chest and another possible gunshot wound on his neck.”
“I checked for a pulse, but I did not feel one. I immediately began CPR. Shortly after I started compressions, EMS personnel arrived and took over,” the witness said, adding that the whole situation left them “extremely distraught” and they were “sobbing and shaking uncontrollably” after returning to their apartment.
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