Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse, killed by federal officers in Minneapolis

Alex Jeffrey Pretti, 37, has been identified as the man killed by federal law enforcement officers in Minneapolis on Saturday, the second fatality of a U.S. citizen — in the same city — in less than three weeks as the Trump administration wages an aggressive immigration crackdown in Minnesota.

Pretti was a resident of the Minneapolis area and an intensive care unit nurse who worked at the Department of Veterans Affairs. His colleagues and family described him as a compassionate person and dedicated medical professional.

His father, Michael Pretti, told the Associated Press that he joined the mass protests in his city after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Good 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,” Pretti told the AP. “He felt that doing the protesting was a way to express that, you know, his care for others.”

Aasma Shaukat, a professor of medicine, remembered Pretti, her former research assistant, as the “kindest, sweetest human and a ICU nurse with a bright future.”

As it did with Good, the Trump administration blamed Pretti for the lethal altercation.

The Department of Homeland Security has said that Pretti approached federal officers conducting a “targeted operation” with a gun and that he “violently resisted” as the officers tried to disarm him, leading to an agent to fire “defensive shots.”

“The suspect also had 2 magazines and no ID—this looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement,” DHS said.

Trump administration officials have portrayed Pretti as a violent aggressor. In posts on X, White House aide Stephen Miller labeled him a “domestic terrorist” and “would-be assassin” who “tried to murder federal agents.”

However, video verified by MS NOW appears to contradict the federal government’s account. The video shows Pretti, who is holding a cell phone in one hand, stepping in as an officer shoves another person to the ground. An officer appears to spray him in the face with an irritant from a canister, then multiple officers wrestle Pretti to the ground before gunshots ring out and his body goes limp.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said that Pretti had a “lawful firearm, concealed permit carrier. Something that I’ve been lectured to by Republicans for decades.”

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara also said earlier on Saturday that Pretti had a permit and was a lawful gun owner.

“The only interaction that we are aware of with law enforcement has been for traffic tickets,” O’Hara said of Pretti.

In a statement shared on Saturday night, Pretti’s parents said they “are heartbroken and also very angry,” and defended their son. “The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting,” the statement reads, in part. “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.”

He wanted to be helpful, to help humanity and have a career that was a force of good in the world.”

Colleague Ruth Anway

A colleague, Ruth Anway, told The New York Times in an interview that she met Pretti around 2014 when he was a research assistant at the Veterans Affairs medical center in Minneapolis.

“He wanted to be helpful, to help humanity and have a career that was a force of good in the world,” she said.

Anway said Pretti was an avid biker who explored Minneapolis’ trails in his off hours. And he loved his dog, a Catahoula Leopard named Joule, who had also recently died, according to the AP.

Pretti’s father told AP that they recently talked about his safety during protests.

“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.”