In Minneapolis, a federal officer’s actions resulted in the tragic death of Alex Jeffrey Pretti, an intensive care nurse committed to caring for others. His family described Pretti as someone distressed by the immigration policies implemented by then-President Donald Trump.
Pretti, 37, was passionate about outdoor adventures, often accompanied by his Catahoula Leopard dog, Joule, who had also recently passed away. He was actively involved in protests, particularly after the death of Renee Good at the hands of a U.S. Immigration and Customs officer earlier this month.
“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,” stated Michael Pretti, Alex’s father. “He felt that doing the protesting was a way to express that, you know, his care for others.”
Pretti, a U.S. citizen originally from Illinois, had a clean criminal record aside from minor traffic violations, according to court records and his family. He completed his high school education at Preble High School in Green Bay, as reported by the Green Bay Press Gazette.
His parents, residing in Wisconsin, had recently advised him to exercise caution during protests. “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,” Michael Pretti mentioned. “And he said he knows that. He knew that.”
The Department of Homeland Security reported that Pretti was shot after he “approached” federal officers with a 9 mm handgun. The presence of the weapon was not confirmed in the video footage obtained by The Associated Press.
Pretti’s family acknowledged he owned a handgun and was licensed to carry a concealed weapon in Minnesota, though they were unaware of him carrying it regularly.
The family learned of the incident through a call from an Associated Press reporter and identified their son from a video of the shooting. Efforts to obtain information from authorities were initially unsuccessful, leading Michael Pretti to express frustration, saying, “I can’t get any information from anybody. The police, they said call Border Patrol, Border Patrol’s closed, the hospitals won’t answer any questions?”
Ultimately, confirmation came from the Hennepin County Medical Examiner, who informed them of a body matching their son’s description.
