Alex Jeffrey Pretti, fatally shot by federal immigration agents during a protest in January 2026, worked as what at the Minneapolis Veterans Health Care System?

Alex Jeffrey Pretti, who was fatally shot by federal immigration agents during a protest in January 2026, worked as an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurse at the Minneapolis Veterans Health Care System. Pretti, 37, was a registered nurse who obtained his license in January 2021 and was deeply committed to patient care, specifically for critically ill veterans. His colleagues described him as an outstanding and hardworking nurse who always sought to help others.

The incident occurred on January 24, 2026, amid widespread protests in Minneapolis against "Operation Metro Surge," an immigration enforcement operation. Pretti was participating in these protests, having also been upset by the killing of another Minneapolis resident, Renée Good, by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent earlier in the month. Bystander videos of the shooting appear to show Pretti filming agents and at one point, attempting to help a woman who had been pushed to the ground by an agent. He was then pepper-sprayed, wrestled to the ground, and shot multiple times by federal agents.

Pretti was a U.S. citizen with no criminal record, and while he possessed a permit to carry a firearm, bystander videos reportedly contradict initial official claims that he brandished a weapon. His death sparked further outrage and intensified calls for investigations into the tactics of federal immigration agents. The Department of Homeland (Review) Security stated that the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division is investigating the shooting.