The Minnesota man who was killed by federal agents on Saturday has been identified as Alex Pretti, 37, a registered nurse working in the intensive care unit at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System.
It’s the second fatal shooting this month in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in addition to another non-fatal shooting, amid a major crackdown in Minnesota by federal agents.
Pretti attended nursing school at the University of Minnesota, where he was also a junior scientist beginning in 2012, according to his LinkedIn profile.
“He wanted to help people,” said Dimitri Drekonja, chief of infectious diseases at the VA hospital and professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota, who worked with Pretti at the hospital and on a research project. “He was a super nice, super helpful guy – looked after his patients. I’m just stunned.”
He described Pretti as an “outstanding” nurse and a hard worker, quick with a joke and an “infectious” spirit. “He was such a good dude,” Drekonja told the Guardian. “I just love working with him.”
Michael Pretti, Alex’s father, echoed Drekonja’s assessment, describing his son to the Associated Press as someone who “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 felt that doing the protesting was a way to express that, you know, his care for others,” the elder Pretti said.
Pretti’s father confirmed to the AP that his son had participated in protests following the killing of Renee Good by a US Immigration and Customs Law Enforcement officer earlier this month.
Videos circulating online on Saturday show Pretti directing traffic and filming federal agents, his right hand holding up his phone and his left hand empty. Another video shows him being wrestled to the ground by several law enforcement officers before appearing to be shot several times. At least two officers can be seen with their weapons drawn. Other videos show Pretti seemingly coming to the defense of a legal observer who was shoved to the ground by a federal officer. That officer then sprays Pretti with a chemical agent, repeatedly, before tackling him to the street along with other agents.
As at least five agents surround Pretti on the ground, one appears to fire a shot at him at close range, followed by a volley of more shots, after which his body goes still.
“From what I can see, he was trying to help pull someone away, which is just totally in character for him,” Drekonja said.