The parents of Alex Pretti, who was fatally shot by Border Patrol agents in south Minneapolis Saturday morning (US time), have spoken out in support of their 37-year-old, while calling out the “sickening lies” told by the Donald Trump administration in connection with his harrowing death.
Just weeks after Renee Good was killed by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Minneapolis, Pretti was shot by federal immigration enforcement within the same month. Shortly after his shooting death, Pretti was identified as an Illinois-born US citizen and an ICU nurse who was working at the Minneapolis VA hospital.
As previously reported by the Associated Press and several other US reports, his parents continue to counter vicious descriptions of their son provided by federal authorities in the wake of his death at the hands of Border Patrol.
While the Department of Homeland Security has publicly insinuated that Pretti may have posed a threat to federal agents in Minneapolis, his parents have hailed him a “hero” for protecting a woman moments before he was shot. Their full statement has already been amplified by several US news outlets. And now, even American politicians have doubled down on their efforts to spread the word around and support the Pretti family.
Alex Pretti’s parents issue statement after Border Patrol shooting
In their full statement (now available online), Alex Pretti’s parents, Michael and Susan Pretti, began: “We are heartbroken but also very angry.”
They described their son as a “kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital,” where he worked. They insisted, “Alex wanted to make a difference in the world.” However, now that he’s gone, “he will not be with us to see his impact,” the parents added.
“I do not throw around the hero term lightly,” his parents went on. “However his last thought and act was to protect a woman.” Michael and Susan Pretti then take aim at the Donald Trump administration for telling “sickening lies” about their son. Branding the administration’s statements about Alex Pretti as “reprehensible and disgusting,” his parents sought to clear his name.
“Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs,” they continued. “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.”
Please read this statement from the parents of VA ICU nurse Alexander Pretti, who was murdered yesterday by Border Patrol agents. pic.twitter.com/BFi0yc2fgN
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) January 25, 2026
In their final note, Pretti’s parents urge authorities by saying, “Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man. Thank you.”
US Senator Bernie Sanders shared the statement in a post via his X account. “Please read this statement from the parents of VA ICU nurse Alexander Pretti, who was murdered yesterday by Border Patrol agents,” he wrote alongside the image of the full statement.
Other top Democratic leaders, including ex-US presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, have also condemned the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti.
Claims Trump administration made about Alex Pretti
According to a recent Wall Street Journal report, US President Donald Trump declined to say whether the federal officer who shot Alex Pretti had acted appropriately. He further asserted that his administration was reviewing the incident.
At the same time, the WSJ report also quoted Trump’s criticism of Pretti for carrying a gun during Minneapolis protests. “I don’t like any shooting. I don’t like it. But I don’t like it when somebody goes into a protest and he’s got a very powerful, fully loaded gun with two magazines loaded up with bullets also. That doesn’t play good either,” the MAGA leader said, as per the Wall Street Journal.
Simultaneously, he also hinted at the possibility of pulling back federal officers from the area, with the report quoting him, “At some point we will leave. We’ve done, they’ve done a phenomenal job.”
After the incident on Saturday, Homeland Security issued a lengthy explanation on its official X account, saying that a “suspect” with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun “approached” Border Patrol officers when officers were “conducting a targeted operation in Minneapolis against an illegal alien wanted for violent assault.”
Further defending their actions, the official account went on, “The officers attempted to disarm the suspect but the armed suspect violently resisted… Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, an agent fired defensive shots. Medics on scene immediately delivered medical aid to the subject but was pronounced dead at the scene.”
As per DHS’ account, Pretti had two magazines and no ID, leading them to assume that it was a situation “where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”
Among the torrent of claims, ultimately contradicted by video footage going around online, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claimed Pretti “attacked” officers. FBI Director Kash Patel echoed the same beliefs in his public statements.
Patel also claimed that Pretti had violated the law by carrying a concealed gun at a protest. On the contrary, the Minneapolis police chief said Pretti had a permit to carry the gun, as per CNN.
Noem also suggested Pretti was “brandishing” a gun at the time of the incident. However, various clips shot from different angles haven’t captured the Minneapolis man holding any weapon so far. He was merely seen holding his phone, while a concealed gun appeared to have been taken from his waistband area by federal agents right before he was shot multiple times.
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, on the other hand, labelled Pretti an “assassin” and “domestic terrorist” who “tried to murder federal agents.” Vice President JD Vance reposted the same claim.