ICU Nurse Fatally Shot by Federal Agents in Minneapolis | Vanity Fair

A man who was killed by federal agents in Minneapolis Saturday was an Intensive Care Unit nurse at a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital, family members have confirmed. Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old, Illinois-born US citizen, was a Boy Scout who grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, his father, Michael Pretti told the Associated Press. “He thought it was terrible, you know, kidnapping children, just grabbing people off the street,' the senior Pretti said. 'He cared about those people, and he knew it was wrong, so he did participate in protests.”

According to local broadcast station KTTC, Pretti was shot at around 9 a.m. local time in the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis. Video of the incident (warning: the video is graphic) shows a man being wrestled to the ground by a crowd of masked men in tactical gear. At least one of the men appears to shoot the man once he was on the ground.

Via X, the Department of Homeland Security claims that the man had “a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun” and “two magazines” in his possession. “Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, an agent fired defensive shots,” the DHS said of the incident.

Minnesota is an open carry state, which means that a properly permitted person is allowed to have a visible firearm in their possession in most public places. According to Minneapolis police chief Brian O'Hara, Pretti was a “lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.” According to the AP, he had no history of criminal activity.

The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, a lobbying group that opposes gun restrictions, has issued a statement critical of the DHS's characterization of the shooting victim. 'Every peaceable Minnesotan has the right to keep and bear arms — including while attending protests, acting as observers, or exercising their First Amendment rights,' chair Bryan Strawser said. 'These rights do not disappear when someone is lawfully armed, and they must be respected and protected at all times'

At a news conference Saturday afternoon, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz took issue with the DHS account of the homicide. “Thank God we have video because, according to DHS, these seven heroic guys took on an onslaught of a battalion against them or something,' Walz said. 'It’s nonsense, people. It is nonsense, and it’s lies … The American public knows, and this needs to be the event that says enough.”

As of 4 p.m. local time, protestors have continued to gather in the area to protest today's homicide, which is the third shooting by federal agents in Minneapolis in recent weeks. On January 7, Renee Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent while seated in her SUV; on January 15 agents shot a man in the leg, reportedly after a car chase.

Complicating the issue are federal officials that are reportedly blocking a local investigation into the slaying. Speaking with CNN, O'Hara says that “federal officials [have] attempted to prevent local police from accessing the scene.” Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans confirmed the conflict between agencies, saying that even with a search warrant, federal officials denied them access, and has refused to provide investigators with the names of the federal agents involved in the shooting.

“I attempted to contact the individual that I was told was the overall commander at the scene, and I have not received a call back from them,” Evans said at a Saturday news conference.

According to Walz, it's crucial that local investigators—not FBI, ICE, or DHS officials—lead the inquiry into Saturday's shooting, as well as the other shootings in Minnesota.

'I told the White House the state must lead the investigation,' Walz says. “Let state investigators secure justice … The State has the personnel to keep people safe – federal agents must not obstruct our ability to do so.”

As the protests continue, Walz says that he has activated the Minnesota National Guard to assist local police amid the demonstrations, during which federal agents have employed tear gas and flash bang grenades against protesters. 'Local law enforcement resources are stretched thin because of the disruption to public safety caused by thousands of federal immigration agents in neighborhoods,' the city said in a statement, noting that Guard members will wear neon reflective vests.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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