New reporting reveals that ICU nurse Alex Pretti endured a violent encounter with federal immigration officers roughly a week before he was fatally shot in Minneapolis, according to sources familiar with the matter.
According to those sources, Pretti stopped his car after observing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents pursuing a family on foot, and began shouting and blowing a whistle in protest. He was then tackled by multiple officers — one of whom allegedly leaned on his back — an altercation that resulted in a broken rib.
Medical records reviewed by news outlets indicate that Pretti was later given medication consistent with treatment for a broken rib, and a source quoted in the report said that he “thought he was going to die” during the incident.
The earlier confrontation, which federal officials say isn’t documented in Department of Homeland Security records, suggests that Pretti was already known to law enforcement before the shooting that killed him weeks later — a fact that has added fuel to an already intense national debate about federal enforcement practices and use of force.
Critics of federal immigration operations argue that the earlier injury and the decision to return to the streets — potentially still healing from a broken rib — reflect a pattern of escalating tension between agents and protesters or bystanders. Supporters of Pretti have pointed to the earlier incident as part of a broader narrative of aggressive tactics that culminated in his death.
While DHS maintains it has no internal record of the prior altercation, the new revelations have become a focal point in calls for a transparent and independent investigation into how interactions between Pretti and federal agents unfolded both before and during the fatal shooting.
As the controversy continues, these latest details are reshaping public understanding of the events leading up to Pretti’s death — illuminating not just a single tragic moment, but a chain of confrontations now under intense scrutiny
