Alex Pretti’s younger sister has slammed the ‘disgusting lies’ emerging about the ICU nurse after he was shot dead while being detained by federal agents in Minneapolis.
Micayla Pretti broke her silence on her 37-year-old sibling’s highly publicized death in a statement on Monday.
The heartbroken sister called Pretti a ‘hero’ and commended him for his kindness – a stark contrast from the gun-bearing instigator that ICE has described him as.
‘All Alex ever wanted was to help someone – anyone,’ Micayla continued. ‘Even in his very last moments on this earth, he was simply trying to do just that.’
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem claimed that officers ‘clearly feared for their lives’ when they were allegedly approached by Pretti on Saturday during an immigration enforcement operation.
Noem said that agents only fired their weapons to defend themselves from Pretti after he ‘violently’ resisted federal agents and was ‘brandishing’ a gun at them.
Micayla fiercely disputed any claims that her brother was a ‘domestic terrorist’ or an attempted assassin.
‘When does this end? How many more innocent lives must be lost before we say enough?’ she asked in despair.
Alex Pretti was fatally shot during a confrontation with federal agents in Minneapolis
Pretti was shot dead while being detained by agents during an immigration operation
‘Hearing disgusting lies spread about my brother is absolutely gut-wrenching.’
Trump has weighed in on Pretti’s death, telling The Wall Street Journal: ‘I don’t like any shooting. I don’t like it.’
‘But I don’t like it when somebody goes into a protest and he’s got a very powerful, fully-loaded gun with two magazines loaded up with bullets also,’ he continued. ‘That doesn’t play good either.’
DHS officials have maintained that Pretti approached the officers with a loaded 9mm semiautomatic handgun.
But several videos captured by witnesses appear to show Pretti holding his phone up to agents, not a gun.
Another piece of footage apparently shows an officer removing Pretti’s gun from his waistband before shots were fired.
Minneapolis police said the Veterans Affairs (VA) nurse had no serious criminal history and was a lawful gun owner with a valid permit.
After Pretti was seemingly disarmed, the footage does not clearly show the origin of the first shot.
One gun expert has said he believes Pretti’s Sig Sauer P320 went off in the hands of an agent, prompting another agent to open fire.
Protestors are seen above marching through the streets of downtown Minneapolis after Pretti’s death
Protestors rioted in front of a Minneapolis Hilton on Sunday night following Pretti’s death
Pretti was a VA and ICU nurse who his sister described as kind and helpful
