Minneapolis man shot by Border Patrol remembered as VA nurse, advocate for immigrants

Source: Scripps News/AP

Posted 3:57 PM, Jan 24, 2026


Family members say the man killed by a federal officer in Minneapolis on Saturday was an intensive care nurse at the Veterans Administration who cared deeply about people and was upset by President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in his city.

Alex Jeffrey Pretti, 37, was an avid outdoorsman who loved getting in adventures with Joule, his beloved Catahoula Leopard dog who also recently died. He had participated in protests following the killing of Renee Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 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,” said Michael Pretti, Alex’s father. “He felt that doing the protesting was a way to express that, you know, his care for others.”

Pretti was a U.S. citizen, born in Illinois. Like Good, court records showed he had no criminal record and his family said he had never had any interactions with law enforcement beyond a couple of traffic tickets.

Read more: https://www.scrippsnews.com/politics/immigration/minneapolis-man-shot-by-border-patrol-remembered-as-va-nurse-advocate-for-immigrants