The armed, anti-ICE protestor fatally shot by a federal agent Saturday was an intensive care unit nurse who had a vendetta against the Trump administration, according to his family and colleagues.
Alex Jeffrey Pretti, who was born and raised in Illinois, worked at the Department of Veterans Affairs and was “was upset” by President Trump’s crackdown on immigration in Minneapolis, his family told KSAT.
Pretti, 37, had actively participated in anti-ICE protests following the Jan. 7 shooting of Renee Good, his dad said.
“He felt that doing the protesting was a way to express that, you know, his care for others,” Michael Pretti told the outlet.
His father had only recently told Pretti to “be careful” when protesting and to not do anything stupid.
“We had this discussion with him two weeks ago or so, you know, that go ahead and protest, but do not engage, do not do anything stupid, basically,” his father said. “And he said he knows that. He knew that.”
Pretti’s family learned of his death after journalists began calling, they said.
Michael Pretti tried getting information from officials in Minnesota after watching a video on social media of a man — who appeared to be his son — being shot.
“I can’t get any information from anybody,” Michael Pretti told KSAT.
“The police, they said call Border Patrol, Border Patrol’s closed, the hospitals won’t answer any questions?”
4Protests have broken out against ICE across Minneapolis on Saturday.CRAIG LASSIG/EPA/Shutterstock
The family was only able to confirm what happened to Pretti after calling the Hennepin County Medical Examiner, they said.
Local officials described Pretti as a lawful gun owner with a conceal carry permit.
Pretti’s family members knew he owned a handgun and had a permit to carry a concealed weapon in Minnesota — but had never known him to carry it, they said.
Dimitri Drekonja, the chief of infectious diseases and colleague of Pretti’s at the Minneapolis VA, took to Bluesky on Saturday, blasting the officer who shot Pretti.What do you think? Post a comment.
“He was a good kind person who lived to help and these f–kers executed him,” he wrote in an unhinged rant.
