As investigators proceed to collect proof on Saturday concerning the second deadly capturing this month of an American citizen in Minneapolis by the hands of a federal agent, extra info is rising concerning the sufferer, Alex Pretti.
Pretti, 37, labored for the Minneapolis VA Well being Care System as an ICU nurse, based on AFGE Professional Local 3669, which represents skilled workers affiliated with the Minneapolis VA Well being Care System.
This undated photograph offered by Michael Pretti exhibits Alex J. Pretti, the person who was shot by a federal officer in Minneapolis on Jan. 24, 2026.
Michael Pretti through AP
“[A] member of our union misplaced their life right this moment, and that alone is devastating. Our hearts are heavy, and we’re deeply tormented by this tragedy that has befallen considered one of our personal,” the union stated.
A number of movies of the confrontation Saturday confirmed federal brokers spraying Pretti with a substance and pinning him to the bottom earlier than the capturing.
The Division of Homeland Safety alleged that Pretti approached Border Patrol brokers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun, and “violently resisted” when brokers tried to disarm him. Native officers have disputed that characterization.
Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino declined to present extra particulars concerning the confrontation, claiming, “This case is evolving. The investigation is ongoing. These details will come to gentle.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, nonetheless, questioned the claims and admonished the federal authorities for a rush to judgment with out spending extra time gathering proof.
This display seize from a video exhibits the scene moments earlier than a capturing in Minneapolis, on Jan. 24, 2025.
Obtained by ABC Information
Pretti, who labored as a nurse on the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Well being Care System, was issued a Minnesota nursing license in 2021 that remained energetic via March 2026, based on state data.
He beforehand served as a “junior scientist” on the College of Minnesota Medical Faculty, based on his LinkedIn profile.
Dr. Dmitri Drekonja, who labored with Pretti, instructed ABC Information Saturday “to these of us who know him it is galling and enraging” to listen to the best way federal officers are portraying Pretti.
“I do not perceive how one can put a label on somebody like that with out speaking to anybody who knew him. … They appear to be dropping that on the market out of completely nothing,” Drekonja stated.
Drekonnja stated he bonded with Pretti over their pursuits in mountain biking.
“The Twin Cities metro space had excellent mountain bike trails. We might evaluate notice about which of them to go to. We talked about the identical trails. I distinctly bear in mind considering that I had one other particular person to journey with,” he stated.
“He was the kind of particular person you loved being round and the notion that this beneficial, smiling joking man was being labeled a terrorist? It is galling,” he added.
This undated photograph offered by Michael Pretti exhibits Alex J. Pretti, the person who was shot by a federal officer in Minneapolis on Jan. 24, 2026.
Michael Pretti through AP
Drekonnja stated he knew Pretti since 2018 and talked extremely of Pretti’s work ethic.
“This can be a man who, inside minutes, places individuals relaxed together with his humor, smiling, fast with a joke … He was a man who put individuals relaxed.”
Drekonnja added, “He was a man you simply loved being round. He was somebody who at all times stated, ‘what can I do to assist with this.’ It was fabulous.”
Mac Randolph stated in a Facebook post that Perrti handled his father on the VA. He posted a video on his Fb web page displaying the nurse giving the ultimate salute on the VA after his father handed away in 2024.
“At this time we do not forget that freedom shouldn’t be free. We now have to work at it, nurture it, shield it and even sacrifice for it,” Pretti says within the video. “We could always remember and at all times bear in mind our brothers and sisters who’ve served in order that we could benefit from the present of freedom.”
Randolph stated in his submit: “By no means wished to share this video however his speech could be very on level. Additionally my Fathers ultimate phrases to me was proceed to struggle the great struggle. He could be honored in Alex’ sacrifice, and ashamed of this present administration.”
The AFGE stated Pretti “devoted his life to serving American veterans.”
“Whereas particulars of the incident are nonetheless rising, one truth is already clear: this tragedy didn’t occur in a vacuum. It’s the direct results of an administration that has chosen reckless coverage, inflammatory rhetoric, and manufactured disaster over accountable management and de-escalation,” AFGE President Everett Kelley stated in a press release.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara stated that Pretti was a authorized gun proprietor and didn’t have a prison document.
Minnesota’s gun legal guidelines permit open carrying a handgun so long as the gun proprietor has a sound allow.
A spokesperson for the Inexperienced Bay Space Public Faculty District confirmed that Pretti was a 2006 graduate of the district.
-ABC Information’ Laura Romero contributed to this report.
