The entire nation is bowing before Alex Pretti. In the brief moments before the gunshots rang out, this Minneapolis man chose to protect a complete stranger with his life
Family handout
Alex Pretti was killed in Minneapolis on Saturday
A man who was shot dead by federal agents in Minneapolis has been identified by his family as 37-year-old intensive care nurse Alex Pretti.
He has been described as an avid outdoorsman who loved mountain biking and is understood to have joined protests after Renee Good, also 37, was shot dead by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in her car earlier this month.
Conflicting accounts have emerged about the moments leading up to his death.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said an agent fired in self-defence after Pretti, who they claim had a handgun, resisted attempts to disarm him. Some eyewitnesses and officials, as well as Prettiβs family, have challenged that account.
Videos show no evidence to support the claim he used any armed force to threaten agents.
Pretti worked as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs hospital, his family said in a statement. They told the Associated Press news agency (AP) that he was upset by US President Donald Trumpβs crackdown on immigration in the city.
Prettiβs mother also said her son cared immensely about the Trump administrationβs rollback of environmental regulations.
βHe hated that, you know, people were just trashing the land,β Susan Pretti told AP.
She added: βHe was an outdoorsman. He took his dog everywhere he went. You know, he loved this country, but he hated what people were doing to it.β
Latest updates: US citizen Alex Pretti shot dead by federal agents in Minneapolis
Video shows moments around fatal shooting in Minneapolis
What we know about the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti
Pretti had no interactions with law enforcement beyond traffic tickets, family say
Pretti loved adventures with his beloved Catahoula Leopard dog Joule, who died around a year ago, AP reported.
His family said he had no interaction with law enforcement beyond a handful of traffic tickets. According to AP, court records show he had no criminal record.
Prettiβs parents, who live in Wisconsin, said they had also recently told their son to be careful while protesting.
βWe 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,β his father Michael Pretti told AP.
βAnd he said he knows that. He knew that.β
Prettiβs family also explained he owned a handgun and had a permit to carry a concealed handgun in Minnesota β but they had never known him to carry it.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian OβHara also said police believed he was a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry, the BBCβs US partner CBS reported.
βPlease get the truth out about our sonβ
After seeing videos suggesting their son was a βdomestic terrorist,β Prettiβs family issued a statement saying βthe sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgustingβ.
They claimed videos showed Pretti was not holding a gun when he was tackled by federal agents.
βPlease get the truth out about our son. He was a good man,β they urged in their statement.
Pretti was a Democratic voter and had taken part in the wave of street protests after George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020, his ex-wife told AP.
She said that he was someone who may shout at law enforcement officers at a protest but had never known him to be physically confrontational.
Reuters
A woman cries as people gather around a makeshift memorial close to where Alex Pretti was shot
A US citizen born in Illinois, Pretti grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he played football, baseball and ran track for Preble High School. He was a Boy Scout and sang in the Green Bay Boy Choir.
He went to the University of Minnesota, graduating in 2011 with a bachelorβs degree in biology, society and the environment, according to his family.
He worked as a research scientist before returning to education to qualify as a registered nurse.
His parents said their last conversation with their son was a couple of days before he was shot dead when they spoke about repairs he had done to the garage door at his home, AP reported.
A Latino man had completed the work and Prettiβs parents said with all that was happening in Minneapolis he gave the man a $100 (Β£74) tip.
Doctor Dmitri Drekonja, who worked with Pretti, told ABC News the pair had bonded over their interest in mountain biking and would compare notes on which trails to ride.
βHe was the type of person you enjoyed being around and the notion that this helpful, smiling joking guy was being labelled a terrorist? Itβs galling,β he said.
Reuters
People gather around a makeshift memorial close to where Alex Pretti was fatally shot
Neighbours described Pretti as quiet and warmhearted.
βHeβs a wonderful person,β Sue Gitar told AP, who lived downstairs from the nurse and said he moved into the building about three years ago. βHe has a great heart.β
Pretti lived alone and worked long hours as a nurse, but he was not a loner, his neighbours said.
βI never thought of him as a person who carried a gun,β said Gitar
