Who was Alex Pretti, the intensive care nurse shot dead in Minneapolis?

The man shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis has been identified by his family as 37-year-old critical care nurse Alex Pretti.

He is described as an avid outdoor sportsman who loves mountain biking and is understood to have joined protests after Renee Good, also 37, was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in her car earlier this month.

Conflicting accounts have emerged about the moments leading up to his death.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said an agent fired in self-defense after Pretti, who they claimed had a gun, resisted attempts to disarm him. Pretti’s family, as well as some eyewitnesses and authorities, disputed this account.

Pretti worked as a critical care nurse at a Minneapolis Veterans Affairs hospital, his family said in a statement. They told the Associated Press news agency (AP) that they were disturbed by US President Donald Trump’s pressure on immigration in the city.

Pretti’s mother also said her son is extremely concerned about the Trump administration’s rollback of environmental regulations.

“He hated it when people threw away land,” Susan Pretti told the AP.

He added: “He was an outdoorsman. He took his dog everywhere he went. You know, he loved this country but he hated what people did to him.”

Pretti loved adventures with his beloved Catahoula Leopard dog, Joule, who died about a year ago, the AP reported.

His family said he had no interactions with law enforcement other than a handful of traffic tickets. Court records show he has no criminal record, according to the AP.

Pretti’s parents, who live in Wisconsin, also said they recently told their son to be careful during the protest.

“We discussed this with him about two weeks ago; go ahead and protest, but don’t interfere, don’t do anything stupid,” his father, Michael Pretti, told the AP.

“And he said he knew that. He knew that.”

Pretti’s family also said he owned a handgun and had a permit to carry a concealed handgun in Minnesota, but they never saw him carry it.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara also said police believed he was a legal gun owner with a permit to carry, the BBC’s US partner CBS reported.

After seeing videos suggesting their son was a “domestic terrorist,” Pretti’s family released a statement saying the “sickening lies told by the administration about our son are reprehensible and disgusting.”

They claimed there were videos showing Pretti not holding a gun when he was attacked by federal agents.

“Please reveal the truth about our son. He was a good man,” they insisted in their statement.

Pretti is a Democratic voter and joined the wave of street protests after George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020, his ex-wife told the AP.

He said he was someone who might yell at law enforcement during a protest, but he had never known him to be physically confrontational.

A U.S. citizen born in Illinois, Pretti grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he played football, baseball and ran track at Preble High School. He was a Boy Scout and sang in the Green Bay Boys’ Chorus.

He attended the University of Minnesota and graduated in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in biology, society and environment, his family said.

She worked as a research scientist before returning to school to become a registered nurse.

His parents said the last time they spoke to their son was about repairs he had made to the garage door of his home, a few days before he was shot and killed, the AP reported.

A Latino man had completed the job and Pretti’s family said they tipped the man $100 (£74) for what was happening in Minneapolis.

Doctor Dmitri Drekonja, who worked with Pretti, told ABC News that the two bonded over their interest in mountain biking and would compare notes on which trails to ride.

“He was the kind of person you liked to be around, and is the idea of ​​this helpful, friendly, funny guy being labeled a terrorist frustrating?” he said.

Neighbors described Pretti as a quiet and friendly person.

“He’s a wonderful person,” Sue Gitar, who lives downstairs from the nurse’s, told the AP and said she moved into the building about three years ago. “He has a great heart.”

Neighbors said Pretti lived alone and worked long hours as a nurse, but she was not alone.

“I never thought of him as someone who carried a gun,” Guitar said.