Minneapolis felt the weight of another tragedy last weekend when 37‑year‑old ICU nurse Alex Pretti was shot and killed during a confrontation with federal immigration agents. New reporting shows Pretti had a painful encounter with those same officers just about a week before he died — an encounter that left him with what he believed was a broken rib.
Pretti wasn’t just any bystander. Friends and family describe him as a devoted health care worker who spent his days caring for veterans at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center. They paint a picture of a man who didn’t seek trouble, but who felt compelled to speak up when he saw what he thought was an injustice happening on his city’s streets.
The earlier incident that reportedly injured Pretti unfolded as immigration agents pursued a family during an enforcement operation. According to people familiar with the matter who spoke with CNN, Pretti stopped his car, began shouting and even blew a whistle to draw attention to the chase. He said federal agents tackled him to the ground, and one officer pressed into his back so hard he later thought he might die. Medical records reviewed by reporters suggest he was given medicine consistent with treatment for a rib injury. It’s not clear whether that injury was formally labeled a fracture.
Federal authorities have neither confirmed nor denied that earlier clash. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told outlets they had no official record of Pretti’s complaint, even as records and eyewitness accounts point to an aggressive exchange.
Days later, during a separate enforcement action in South Minneapolis, Pretti again found himself in the crosshairs. What happened next is now the subject of competing accounts. Federal officials have said Pretti approached agents with a handgun and resisted their attempts to disarm him. They say an agent fired in self‑defense. But video shared by witnesses and reviewed by news organizations shows Pretti holding only a phone before agents pinned him to the ground and pepper‑sprayed him. Some bystanders testify that his weapon was still holstered and that he never reached for it.
At least two federal agents fired shots during the struggle, according to notices to Congress from the Department of Homeland Security. The shooting set off protests in Minneapolis and reignited fierce debates across the country over immigration policy and the use of force by federal officers.
Pretti’s loved ones are left with wrenching questions. To them, and many who have watched the video footage, he was trying to help a woman on the ground — not threaten law enforcement. Local leaders and civil rights advocates have called for transparency and accountability, demanding the release of body‑camera footage and a full explanation of why a man with no significant criminal history — and who was legally carrying a firearm — was killed on a city street.
Investigations are ongoing, and federal officials haven’t yet said whether any internal review is underway or when more details might be released. Public pressure continues to mount as Minneapolis and the nation grapple with the fallout from Pretti’s death.
