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The parents of a Minneapolis nurse killed by federal agents belonging to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recalled their final conversation with their son just days before his death.
Alex Pretti, 37, was shot dead by border patrol officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Saturday during a targeted immigration enforcement operation.
Just a couple of days before the killing, Pretti spoke with his parents about repairs to his garage door.
He mentioned giving the Latino worker tasked with the job a $100 tip amid immigration tensions in Minnesota.
Susan Pretti, his mother, also said he was troubled by the direction of the US – especially the Trump administration’s rollback of environmental regulations.
‘He loved this country, but he hated what people were doing to it,’ she told the Associated Press.
The grieving mother described her son as an ‘outdoorsman’ who ‘took his dog everywhere he went.’
‘He hated that, you know, people were just trashing the land,’ she added.
Alex Pretti was shot and killed in Minneapolis on Saturday afternoon, triggering shock and outrage across the United States
Susan and Michael Pretti, his parents, recalled that their last conversation was about how he tipped $100 to a Latino worker for repairing his garage door
Pretti’s parents said they knew he participated in protests and was concerned by the ongoing immigration crackdown in Minnesota.
‘He cared about people deeply and he was very upset with what was happening in Minneapolis and throughout the United States with ICE, as millions of other people are upset,’ said his father, Michael Pretti.
‘He thought it was terrible, you know, kidnapping children, just grabbing people off the street,’ Michael added. ‘He cared about those people, and he knew it was wrong, so he did participate in protests.’
Still, the parents had urged Pretti to exercise caution while he was out demonstrating.
His father Michael said: ‘We had this discussion with him two weeks ago or so, you know, that go ahead and protest, but do not engage, do not do anything stupid, basically.’
Pretti responded that ‘he knows that,’ according to his dad.
The family first learned of the fatal shooting after being called by an AP reporter.
They watched the video and said the man shot dead looked to be their son.
Pretti’s parents then attempted to contact state officials in Minnesota, but claimed they struggled to get immediate updates.
Pretti’s parents said they told their son to ‘go ahead and protest, but do not engage, do not do anything stupid’
‘I can’t get any information from anybody,’ Michael said Saturday.
The parents eventually called the Hennepin County Medical Examiner, who confirmed a body matching the name and description of their son.
Kristi Noem, the Homeland Security Secretary, claimed after the shooting that officers ‘clearly feared for their lives.’
She said the agents fired defensive shots at Pretti after he ‘violently’ resisted their instructions.
Noem also claimed Pretti was ‘brandishing’ the firearm and suggested Pretti was a domestic terrorist in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.
Gregory Bovino, the US Border Patrol commander-at-large, said Pretti planned to ‘massacre’ federal agents when he was killed.
Pretti’s parents fiercely disputed the federal account and accused the Trump administration of lying.
‘The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting,’ they said in a statement. ‘Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs.’
Pretti’s parents remembered him 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’ in Minneapolis
Pretti was shot and killed by US Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC) agents, not ICE officers.
The statement added Pretti had ‘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 get the truth out about our son,’ the parents said. ‘He was a good man.’
Pretti’s parents described themselves as ‘heartbroken but also very angry.’
Their remarks called Pretti 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.’
The parents also said: ‘Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately he will not be with us to see his impact.
‘I do not throw around the hero term lightly. However his last thought and act was to protect a woman.’
Minneapolis police said Pretti had no serious criminal history and was a lawful gun owner with a valid permit.
Law enforcement officers were captured kneeling next to the body of Pretti after he was shot on Saturday
Pretti was seen facing off with federal agents before being shot. His family claimed he was ‘clearly not holding a gun’, while federal officials have alleged he was ‘brandishing’ a firearm
On Monday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were investigating the shooting.
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) was also conducting an internal review of the fatal incident.
Leavitt also said she had ‘not heard’ US President Donald Trump ‘characterize’ Pretti as a domestic terrorist.
DHS officials have maintained that Pretti approached the officers with a loaded 9mm semiautomatic handgun.
However, witness videos from the scene appeared to show Pretti holding his phone up to the agents – not a gun.
He was captured filming agents with his device as they arrested a female protester, before suddenly being tackled to the ground.
Footage suggested that one officer took Pretti’s weapon from his waistband and walked away with it just moments before he was killed.
Pretti was the second person killed this month by a federal officer in Minneapolis.
He was shot dead just over a mile from where Renee Good, 37, was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer on January 7.
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