The family of a Minneapolis nurse shot dead by the Department of Homeland Security has eviscerated the Trump administration and branded his killers “murdering and cowardly thugs” in a blistering statement, accusing federal authorities of telling “sickening lies” about their son.
![](https://thenigerialawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/SADR.jpeg")
![](https://thenigerialawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/TheNigerialawyer-WhatsApp-Channel1.jpg")
Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse who worked at the Minneapolis VA hospital caring for American veterans, was shot and killed by DHS agents on Saturday morning near 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue in south Minneapolis during what federal authorities described as a targeted immigration operation.
Speaking hours after their son’s death, the Pretti family issued a statement directly contradicting the official version of events presented by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
“We are heartbroken but also very angry. Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital. Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately he will not be with us to see his impact. I do not throw around the hero term lightly. However his last thought and act was to protect a woman,” the statement read.
“The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He has his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down all while being pepper sprayed.”
The family concluded: “Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man.”
While the family accused ICE of the shooting, it was actually carried out by officers from the Department for Homeland Security (DHS).
On Saturday evening, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem echoed claims that Pretti “brandished” a weapon at her agents before his shooting.
“I don’t know of any peaceful protester that shows up with a gun and ammunition rather than a sign,” Noem said at a Washington DC press conference. “This is a violent riot when you have someone showing up with weapons and are using them to assault law enforcement officers.”
Noem stated: “This individual went and impeded their law enforcement operations, attacked those officers, had a weapon on him and multiple, dozens of rounds of ammunition. Wishing to inflict harm on those officers coming brandishing like that and impeding the work they were doing.”
She claimed Pretti had “reacted violently” after getting involved in an altercation between DHS and a female protester standing close to him.
“An individual approached US Border Patrol Officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun. The officers attempted to disarm this individual but the armed suspect reacted violently…this looks like a situation where an individual arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage and kill law enforcement,” Noem stated.
However, footage taken of the killing appears to dispute Noem’s claims.
Video from the scene shows Pretti could be seen holding a shiny object aloft while scuffling with an officer, moments after he was pepper-sprayed. It is unclear what that object was. He had been recording with his phone in one hand before the confrontation erupted. His other hand appeared to be free. The agent he was tussling with did not yell “gun” at the sight of that object or recoil.
One agent was seen removing what appeared to be Pretti’s legally-owned handgun from his waistband. Footage also appears to show a DHS agent take Pretti’s handgun away a few seconds before another officer opened fire six times and killed Pretti.
Circulating video showed agents wrestling Pretti to the ground before one federal agent fired multiple shots into his chest – after which the agents scattered. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Pretti worked as a registered nurse for the Veterans Health Administration at the Minneapolis VA hospital, where he served as an intensive care nurse treating critically ill veterans. Public records show he earned approximately $90,000 in 2023. Colleagues have described him as a dedicated healthcare worker whose death has had a significant impact within the VA medical community.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara confirmed that Pretti had no serious criminal history beyond minor parking violations and was a lawful gun owner with a valid permit. Family members said Pretti owned a handgun and had a permit to carry a concealed handgun in Minnesota, though they said they had never known him to carry it.
Pretti was a US citizen, born in Illinois. He 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.
After graduation, he went to the University of Minnesota, graduating in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in biology, society and the environment. He worked as a research scientist before returning to school to become a registered nurse. State records indicate he was issued a nursing license in 2021 that remains active through March 2026.
Pretti was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed getting into adventures with Joule, his beloved Catahoula Leopard dog who also recently died. He lived in a four-unit condominium building about 2 miles from where he was shot.
Neighbors described him as quiet and warmhearted. “He’s a wonderful person,” said Sue Gitar, who lived downstairs from Pretti. “He has a great heart.” If there was something suspicious going on in the neighborhood, or when they worried the building might have a gas leak, he would jump in to help.
A competitive bicycle racer who lavished care on his new Audi, Pretti had also been deeply attached to his dog, who died about a year ago.
Pretti had participated in protests following the January 7 killing of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs officer.
“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,” said Michael Pretti, Alex’s father.
“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, so he did participate in protests.”
In a recent conversation with their son, his parents, who live in Colorado, told him to be careful when protesting.
“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 said. “And he said he knows that. He knew that.”
His parents said their last conversation with their son was a couple days before his death. They talked about repairs he had done to the garage door of his home. The worker was a Latino man, and they said with all that was happening in Minneapolis he gave the man a $100 tip.
Pretti’s mother said her son cared immensely about the direction the country was headed, especially the Trump administration’s rollback of environmental regulations. “He hated that, you know, people were just trashing the land,” Susan Pretti said. “He 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.”
The family first learned of the shooting when they were called by a reporter for the Associated Press. They watched the video and said the man killed appeared to be their son. They then tried reaching out to officials in Minnesota to try and get more information.
“I can’t get any information from anybody,” Michael Pretti said. “The police, they said call Border Patrol, Border Patrol’s closed, the hospitals won’t answer any questions.”
Eventually, the family called the Hennepin County Medical Examiner, who they said confirmed they had a body matching the name and description of their son.
As of Saturday evening, the family said they had still not heard from anyone at a federal law enforcement agency about their son’s death.
During a Saturday briefing, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said the video he saw showed six federal agents “pummeling” a man and then shooting him multiple times in the chest.
He then branded the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown an “invasion” by masked agents acting with impunity, before singling out the president.
“Put Minneapolis, put America first,” Frey said, urging the president to “take action now and remove these federal agents.”
“How many more residents, how many more Americans need to die or get badly hurt for this operation to end?” he added, emphasizing that the administration’s ongoing operations are “not creating safety in our city.”
“How many more lives need to be lost before this administration realizes that a political and partisan narrative is not as important as American values? How many local and national leaders must plead with you, Donald Trump, to end this operation?”
The mayor said US citizens have seen such operations carried out around the world – but “never here in America,” where a city is being invaded by its own federal government.
“I’m done being told that our community members are responsible for the vitriol in our streets. I’m done being told that our local elected officials are solely responsible for turning down the temperature,” Frey declared.
Just yesterday, Frey noted, the city saw 15,000 people peacefully protesting in the streets and “standing up for their neighbors.”
“Not a single broken window, not a single injury,” the mayor said. “Those peaceful protests embody the very principles that both Minneapolis and America was founded upon.”
He shifted focus to the “mass militarized force” of unidentified agents in the streets, arguing that such actions are what “weaken our country.”
“So to everyone listening, stand with Minneapolis. Stand up for America. Recognize that your children will ask you what side you were on. Your grandchildren will ask you what you did to act to prevent this from happening again,” the mayor said.
“This is not what America is about. This is not a partisan issue. This is an American issue.”
“To President Trump, this is a moment to act like a leader. Let’s achieve peace. Let’s end this operation and I’m telling you, our city will come back and safety will be restored,” he said.
Governor Tim Walz responded to the shooting on X (formerly Twitter) with a blistering demand directed at President Trump.
“I just spoke with the White House after another horrific shooting by federal agents this morning. Minnesota has had it. This is sickening,” Walz wrote.
“The President must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now.”
Senator Amy Klobuchar wrote: “There has been another shooting involving federal agents in Minneapolis and I am working to get more information. To the Trump administration and the Republicans in Congress who have stood silent: Get ICE out of our state NOW.”
Senator Erin Murphy, the top Democrat in the state’s Senate, also issued a statement demanding an end to the federal operation.
“ICE is a brutal invading force that acts without accountability or the most basic respect for human dignity or life,” she said. “These agents of violence need to be brought to justice.”
Noem, a MAGA Republican, blamed two of Minnesota’s most senior Democrat lawmakers – Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
“Our law enforcement are doing everything they can to protect the public. We’re praying for the deceased’s loved ones, family, and friends, but we also recognize that the Minnesota and the Minneapolis governor need to take a long hard look in the mirror. They need to evaluate their rhetoric, their conversations, and their encouragement of such violence against our citizens and law enforcement officers.”
Pretti and an unidentified woman were protesting the DHS arrest of an Ecuadorian illegal migrant called Jose Huerta-Chuma, who faces charges of domestic assault, disorderly conduct and driving without a license.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, federal agents were in the area attempting to apprehend a man described as “an illegal alien wanted for violent assault” when Pretti approached them. DHS said a struggle followed.
The agency stated that Pretti was armed with a nine-millimeter semi-automatic handgun and carrying two magazines, and that officers attempted to disarm him before he allegedly resisted.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said city police were not involved in the immigration operation and did not fire the weapon.
As crowds continued to gather at the scene, the Minnesota State Patrol declared an “unlawful assembly” in the vicinity of the fatal shooting.
Protesters were seen blocking streets with dumpsters and restaurant furniture while shouting “ICE go home!” at agents, as the area remained secured with police tape.
Residents and protesters remained on the scene, shouting at agents and calling them “Nazis,” while insisting that all immigrants were welcome in the city.
Chief O’Hara said during the press conference that two small fires were set, and that police and fire departments were working together to extinguish them.
Federal agents were seen firing tear gas and pepper balls just hours after the shooting. Several witnesses were transported to the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building as ICE agents tried to order local police to leave the scene, but O’Hara refused.
Multiple people were arrested, though it remains unclear exactly how many protesters were detained at the scene.
DHS shared its account on X, saying the deadly incident began as a “targeted operation against an illegal alien wanted for violent assault.” The department wrote that “about 200 rioters arrived at the scene and began to obstruct and assault law enforcement,” leading to the deployment of crowd-control measures.
Saturday’s killing marks the third recent incident involving federal agents in Minneapolis.
Renee Nicole Good, 37, was shot and killed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross on January 7 after ignoring orders to get out of her car and trying to drive away from the scene. Protests have picked up in Minneapolis in recent weeks as ICE continues to occupy the city following Good’s death.
The fatal shooting also comes just a week after an ICE agent, who DHS said feared for his life, fired a “defensive shot” at illegal migrant Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in Minneapolis, striking him in the leg.
At a separate press conference, Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino said the officer who shot Pretti had been serving with the Border Patrol for the past eight years.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR LAWYERS: A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE
Reimagine your practice with the power of AI “...this is the only Nigerian book I know of on the topic.” — Ohio Books Ltd
Authored by Ben Ijeoma Adigwe, Esq., ACIArb (UK), LL.M, Dip. in Artificial Intelligence, Director, Delta State Ministry of Justice, Asaba, Nigeria.
Bonus:
Get a FREE eBook titled “How to Use the AI in Legalpedia and Law Pavilion” with every purchase.
How to Order: 📞 Call, Text, or WhatsApp: 08034917063 | 07055285878 📧 Email: benadigwe1@gmail.com 🌐 Website: www.benadigwe.com
Ebook Version: Access directly online at: https://selar.com/prv626
________________________________________________________________________ The Law And Practice Of Redundancy In Nigeria: A Practitioner’s Guide, Authored By A Labour & Employment Law Expert Bimbo Atilola
_______________________________________________________________________
New Year Promo: Get Five Maritime Law Books For N150,000 — 63% Discount
The promotion, which commenced on January 8 and runs until February 8, 2026, offers five core maritime law books authored by Dr. Emeka Akabogu, SAN, ordinarily valued at N405,000, for just N150,000 — a 63% discount.
Interested buyers can place their orders through the following channels:
Phone: 0704 329 3271
Online Store: https://paystack.shop/aa-bookstore
Website: www.akabogulaw.com
______________________________________________________________________
