Border Patrol Agent Kills Minnesota Resident, ICU Nurse, Alex Pretti
Justin Lotito
Staff Writer
On January 24 2026, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and killed Minnesota resident Alex Pretti, an intensive care (ICU) nurse for the United States Department of Veteran Affairs.
Bystander footage shows an ICE agent shooting Pretti ten times, per CNN. In one video, an ICE agent can be seen walking across the street to confront Pretti. Pretti can be viewed holding a phone to record the interaction. After a few moments, ICE agents surround Pretti, spraying him with pepper spray, and then multiple agents pin him to the ground. Another camera shows an ICE agent disarming Pretti and taking away his gun, which he possessed lawfully, per CBS News. Then, an ICE agent took multiple steps backwards and fired ten shots at Pretti.
“They shot him so many times,” a witness stated in a court declaration. “I don’t know why they shot him. He was only helping. I was five feet from him and they just shot him.”
As Pretti lay wounded and motionless on the ground, videos and bystander accounts claim no first aid was provided, per the Guardian. Bystander comments also alleged ICE agents were seen counting bullet holes instead of administrating aide.
“None of the ICE agents who were near the victim were performing CPR, and I could tell the victim was in critical condition,” a pediatrician, who witnessed the killing, wrote in a court declaration, per CNN. “I insisted that the agents let me assess him… I felt a professional and moral obligation to help this man, especially since none of the agents were helping him.”
After initial objections, the ICE agents allowed the bystander to administer CPR, per The New York Times. The bystander checked for a pulse, but they could not find one. They administered CPR until emergency service personnel arrived at the scene.
Official statements by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Donald Trump Administration contradict bystander comments and video footage released.
“This individual impeded the law enforcement officers and attacked them,” Krisit Noem, the U.S. Secretary of DHS, said, CNN reports. Noem also repeated the phrase “attacked them” after this statement, in an apparent attempt to add emphasis to her claim.
“You do not get to attack law enforcement officials in this country without any repercussions,” Kash Patel, the Director of the FBI, told Fox News. Video footage provided to the public does not show Pretti attacking law enforcement officials, per the Guardian.
“A would-be assassin tried to murder federal law enforcement and the Democrat account sides with the terrorists,” Stephen Miller, a DHS advisor, wrote on X in response to the Democrat’s X account asking for ICE to Withdraw from Minnesota. Underneath Miller’s post, a reader note, designed to give X users fact-checked information, writes, “Videos of the encounter shows that the gun was never drawn. The weapon remains in the victim’s holster until one agent removes it. After the victim is disarmed, a second agent shoots him repeatedly.”
Border Patrol Commander, Gregory Bovino, told reporters Pretti approached agents with a loaded handgun, attempting to “massacre law enforcement” and had “violently resisted,” per the Guardian. Bovino has since left Minnesota, per CNN.
Videos footage and analysis provided by CNN, New York Times, the Guardian, AP News, Al Jazeera, and other outlets, contradict all claims made by the Trump Administration and their officials.
In response to Pretti’s death, and statements made by U.S. Government officials, his family released a statement.
“We are heartbroken but also very angry,” the Pretti family wrote. “Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital. Alex wanted to make a difference in this world.”
Pretti’s family also denounced the ‘sickening lies’ being spread by U.S. Government officials. They labeled the claims as “reprehensible and disgusting,” per the New York Times.
As a nurse, Alex Pretti was remembered as one who deeply cared for his patients, per the BBC. A video taken in 2024 shows Pretti honoring one of his patients.
“Today we have to remember that freedom is not free,” a video shared to Meta shows Pretti delivering a final salute to a veteran passing away. “We have to work at it, nurture it, protect it and even sacrifice for it. May we never forget and always remember our brothers and sisters who have served so that we may enjoy the gift of freedom.”
Image courtesy of Getty Images
