Family members state that the man in Minneapolis on Saturday was an intensive care nurse at a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital. He had a deep concern for people and was distressed by the situation in his city.
Alex Jeffrey Pretti, 37, was an enthusiastic outdoorsman. He loved going on adventures with Joule, his beloved Catahoula Leopard dog that also passed away recently. He had participated in protests after the killing of someone by a U.S. Immigration and Customs officer on Jan. 7.
“He really cared about people, and just like millions of other people, he was very upset about what was happening in Minneapolis and across the United States regarding ICE,” said Michael Pretti, Alex’s father. “He thought it was awful, you know, kidnapping children and just snatching people off the street. He cared about those people and knew it was wrong, so he did take part in protests.”
Pretti was a U.S. citizen, born in Illinois. Similar to someone else, court records indicated that he had no criminal record, and his family mentioned that he had never had any encounters with law – enforcement other than a few traffic tickets.
During a recent conversation with their son, his parents, who reside in Wisconsin, told him to be cautious.
“We had this talk with him about two weeks ago. We told him to go ahead and protest, but don’t get involved in any trouble, basically don’t do anything stupid,” Michael Pretti said. “And he said he understood. He knew that.”
The Department of Homeland Security reported that the man was shot after he “approached” Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun. Officials did not clarify whether Pretti brandished the gun, and it is not visible in the bystander video of the shooting obtained by The Associated Press.
Family members said that Pretti owned a handgun and had a permit to carry a concealed handgun in Minnesota. They claimed they had never known him to carry it.
Alex Pretti’s family struggles for information about what happened
The family first learned about the shooting when they were called by an Associated Press reporter. They watched the video and said the man who was killed seemed to be their son. Then they attempted to contact officials in Minnesota.
“I can’t get any information from anyone,” Michael Pretti said on Saturday. “The police told me to call Border Patrol, but Border Patrol is closed, and the hospitals won’t answer any questions.”
Eventually, the family called the Hennepin County Medical Examiner, who, they said, confirmed having a body that matched the name and description of their son.
Alex Pretti grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin. He played football, baseball, and ran track for Preble High School. He was a Boy Scout and sang in the Green Bay Boys Choir.
After graduation, according to the family, he went to the University of Minnesota and graduated in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in biology, society, and the environment. He worked as a research scientist before going back to school to become a registered nurse.
Alex Pretti had protested before
Pretti’s ex – wife, Rachel N. Canoun, said she wasn’t surprised that he would be involved in protesting Trump’s immigration crackdown. She said she hadn’t spoken to him since they divorced more than two years ago and she moved to another state.
She said he was a Democratic voter and that he had participated in the wave of street protests after the killing of someone by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020, not far from the couple’s neighborhood. She said they often live – streamed what was going on to social media. She described him as someone who might shout at law enforcement officers during a protest, but she had never known him to be physically aggressive.
“He felt the injustice of these things,” Canoun said. “So it doesn’t surprise me that he would be involved.”
Canoun said Pretti got a permit to carry a concealed firearm about three years ago and that he owned at least one semiautomatic handgun when they separated.
“He didn’t carry it around me because it made me uncomfortable,” she said.
Pretti had ‘a great heart’
Pretti lived in a four – unit condominium building about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from where he was shot. Neighbors described him as quiet and kind – hearted.
“He’s a wonderful person,” said Sue Gitar, who lived downstairs from Pretti and said he moved into the building about three years ago. “He has a big heart.”
If there was something suspicious happening in the neighborhood or when they were worried about a possible gas leak in the building, he would step in to help.
Pretti lived alone and worked long hours as a nurse, but his neighbors said he wasn’t a loner and would sometimes have friends over.
His neighbors knew he had guns — he would occasionally take a rifle to a shooting range — but they were surprised at the thought that he might carry a pistol on the streets.
“I never thought of him as someone who carried a gun,” said Gitar.
Pretti was also passionate about the outdoors
A competitive bicycle racer who took great care of his new Audi, Pretti was also very attached to his dog, which died about a year ago.
His parents said their last conversation with their son was a couple of days before his death. They talked about the repairs he had done to the garage door of his home. The worker was a Latino man, and they said that with all that was happening in Minneapolis, he gave the man a $100 tip.
Pretti’s mother said her son was extremely concerned about the direction the country was taking, especially regarding the Trump administration’s policies.
“He hated that people were just ruining the land,” Susan Pretti said. “He was an outdoorsman. He took his dog everywhere. He loved this country, but he hated what people were doing to it.”