Rachel Canoun and Michael Pretti described Alex Pretti as someone deeply driven by concerns over immigration enforcement and social injustice, regularly participating in protests but not known to be physically violent.
VA hospital nurse Alex Pretti shot dead by federal agents in Minneapolis
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The fatal shooting of Alex Jeffrey Pretti by a US Border Patrol officer in Minneapolis has drawn national attention, with statements from his ex-wife, Rachel Canoun, and his father, Michael Pretti, offering insight into his beliefs, background, and the events leading up to his death.
Rachel Canoun on Alex Pretti Shooting
Rachel Canoun, Pretti’s ex-wife, told The Associated Press that she was not surprised he was involved in protests against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. She said Pretti was a Democratic voter who had participated in the wave of protests following the 2020 killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, which occurred not far from the neighborhood where they once lived.
Canoun described Pretti as someone who could shout at law enforcement during protests but said she never knew him to be physically confrontational. “These kinds of things, you know, he felt the injustice to it,” she told the AP. “So it doesn’t surprise me that he would be involved.”
She said Pretti obtained a permit to carry a concealed firearm about three years ago and owned at least one handgun when the two separated. “He didn’t carry it around me, because it made me uncomfortable,” Canoun said.
Canoun added that she has not spoken to Pretti since their divorce more than two years ago and has since moved to another state.
Michael Pretti on Alex Pretti Shooting
Michael Pretti, Alex’s father, said his son was deeply upset by what he saw as injustice surrounding immigration enforcement in Minneapolis and across the United States. “He cared about people deeply and he was very upset with what was happening in Minneapolis and throughout the United States with ICE, as millions of other people are upset,” he said.
According to his father, Pretti believed immigration enforcement actions were wrong and participated in protests as a result. “He thought it was terrible, you know, kidnapping children, just grabbing people off the street. He cared about those people, and he knew it was wrong,” Michael Pretti said.
He said the family had urged their son to be careful while protesting during a conversation about two weeks before the shooting. “Go ahead and protest, but do not engage, do not do anything stupid,” he recalled telling his son. “And he said he knows that. He knew that.”
The family said they struggled to get information after the shooting, learning of their son’s death initially from an Associated Press reporter. As of Saturday evening, they said they had not been contacted by any federal law enforcement agency.
After seeing public statements suggesting their son attacked officers, the family issued a written statement calling those claims “reprehensible and disgusting,” saying video showed Pretti holding a phone and attempting to shield a woman who was being pepper-sprayed.
About Alex Pretti
Alex Jeffrey Pretti, 37, was a US citizen born in Illinois and worked as an intensive care nurse at a VA hospital for the US Department of Veterans Affairs. His family said he had no criminal record and no prior interactions with law enforcement beyond traffic tickets.
An avid outdoorsman, Pretti enjoyed adventuring with his Catahoula Leopard dog, Joule, who had recently died. He grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he played football, baseball, ran track at Preble High School, was a Boy Scout, and sang in the Green Bay Boy Choir.
Pretti graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in biology, society and the environment. He later worked as a research scientist before returning to school to become a registered nurse.
The Department of Homeland Security said Pretti was shot after he “approached” Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun, though officials did not specify whether he brandished the weapon. Bystander videos show Pretti holding a phone, with no visible firearm. His family confirmed he owned a handgun and had a permit to carry a concealed firearm but said they had never known him to carry it.
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