Alex Pretti was shot and killed by federal officers in Minneapolis.
On Jan. 24, the 37-year-old ICU nurse was fatally shot by U.S. Border Patrol officers during “a targeted operation” against “an illegal alien wanted for violent assault,” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin told PEOPLE in a statement.
McLaughlin claimed that a man “approached” officers while armed with a handgun and “violently resisted” as they attempted to disarm him. The victim was later identified as Pretti, a lawful gun owner with a permit, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said during a press conference.
Witnesses have since shared videos that contradict the DHS’ claims about the shooting, including that he appeared to not have been armed at the time of his killing. In the wake of his death, Pretti’s family released a statement in which they slammed the DHS’ account of the shooting as “sickening lies.”
Here’s everything to know about the late Alex Pretti.
He grew up in Wisconsin
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Pretti grew up in Green Bay, Wis., per the Associated Press.
He attended Preble High School — where he played football, baseball and ran track — and graduated in 2006. Outside of sports, Pretti was a Boy Scout and sang in the Green Bay Boy Choir, the AP reported.
Following his death, Pretti’s high school classmate Rory Shefchek described him to PEOPLE as “your average all-American guy,” noting his involvement in “a lot of extracurriculars.”
Pretti was a University of Minnesota alum
Pretti attended the University of Minnesota, per a post on the school’s official Instagram. He graduated from the College of Liberal Arts in 2011.
His family told the AP that Pretti, who they described as an “outdoorsman,” received his bachelor’s degree in biology, society and the environment.
Alex Pretti had a harrowing encounter with the federal government. Newly emerged footage shows the 37-year-old confronting agents in the middle of Minneapolis, offering a vivid glimpse into his final days.
A newly released video appears to show 37-year-old Alex Pretti confronting federal immigration officers on a Minneapolis street 11 days before he was fatally shot in another encounter with Customs and Border Protection agents.
The video was recorded on Jan. 13 and posted Wednesday by The News Movement, a digital media outlet. It shows a man, believed to be Pretti, confronting federal agents along with other protesters. The video was verified by CBS News partner BBC News, and CBS News has confirmed the footage was filmed in Minneapolis.
In the video, the man is seen kicking and damaging the taillight of a government SUV. The vehicle then stops, and federal agents emerge and tackle him to the ground.
There appears to be a handgun in the man’s waistband — as was also seen in footage from the day Pretti was killed.
The video does not indicate whether the man was detained by federal officers following the Jan. 13 incident.
Later in the video, officers deploy chemical irritants in the street as a number of other people shout, honk their horns or stand around filming the scene on their phones.
A representative for the Pretti family told CBS News that Pretti was the man in the video. The representative said the family knew about the incident and that he sustained injuries, but did not receive medical care.
A Department of Homeland Security official told CBS News investigators with Homeland Security Investigations were aware of the video and are analyzing it.
Other video from the scene that day also shows a man who resembles Pretti wearing the same clothing as seen in the footage posted by The News Movement.
“A week before Alex was gunned down in the street — despite posing no threat to anyone — he was violently assaulted by a group of ICE agents,” Steve Schleicher, an attorney for the Pretti family, told CBS News in a statement regarding the video. “Nothing that happened a full week before could possibly have justified Alex’s killing at the hands of ICE on Jan 24.”
Pretti, an intensive care nurse with the Veterans Administration, was shot as he and several others protested an operation by immigration officers in south Minneapolis. Videos from the scene showed that he had a cellphone in his hand before being shoved to the ground by several officers, one of whom removes a gun from Pretti’s waist during a skirmish moments before another Border Patrol agent opened fire.
Trump administration officials have alleged that the shots fired by the agents were “defensive” in nature.
Pretti was a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry, local officials said. Under Minnesota law, it’s legal to carry a handgun in public if you have a valid permit.
According to a government report sent to Congress and obtained by CBS News, two CBP agents fired their weapons during the encounter.
The agents involved in the incident have been placed on leave, a federal law enforcement official told CBS News Wednesday.
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