The family of Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old man shot dead by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, has spoken out against ‘sickening lies’ told by government officials.
Alex Pretti was the second person shot by ICE in Minneapolis
Just days after the shooting of Renee Good, footage emerged from Minneapolis yesterday showing a 37-year-old man shot by a team of ICE agents on the streets of the city.
Alex Pretti, an American citizen who worked as a nurse in the intensive care unit of the Minneapolis VA Health Care system, was filmed in an altercation with federal agents in the city as Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown continues.
After Pretti was shot and killed, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a statement saying that its agents acted in self defence, claiming that Pretti was holding a firearm and had resisted attempts to disarm him.
However, that account has been challenged by eyewitnesses, who have said he was holding a phone and not a gun.
Two witnesses have provided sworn testimony that Pretti was not brandishing a gun when he was shot by the officers.
One claimed that Pretti was tackled to the floor after he tried to help another person who had been pushed to the ground.
Donald Trump himself referred to ‘the gunman’s gun’ as the DHS released a social media photo claiming to show the firearm Pretti was allegedly carrying, and DHS secretary Kristi Noem told a briefing that Pretti had ‘approached US border patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun’.
Greg Bovino, a senior border patrol commander, said: “This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”
Alex Pretti’s parents condemn the statements of Donald Trump’s government
Pretti’s family disputes the government’s version of events, refuting the claims that their relative was a ‘gunman’ as quoted by the president.
The family said they were ‘heartbroken but also very angry’ at Trump’s comments.
That statement read: “The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting.
“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.”
The statement concludes: “Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man.”
Thousands of people have gathered across the USA to protest after the incident, with many concerned about the ongoing actions of ICE and the government.
JD Vance released a statement of his own on X, writing that ‘this level of engineered chaos is unique to Minneapolis. It is the direct consequence of far left agitators, working with local authorities.’