MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota: Conflicting accounts have emerged over the deadly shooting of intensive care nurse Alex Pretti by Border Patrol officers, with Trump administration officials describing him as a violent "domestic terrorist", while people who knew him said he was a kind and non-violent person.
Investigations into the circumstances of the shooting are ongoing.
Family, neighbors, and the loved ones of the ailing veterans remembered how Pretti treated them at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center.
Pretti's family said he cared deeply about people who were mistreated. He was upset about President Trump's immigration actions in his city and had joined protests after another person, Renee Good, was killed by an immigration officer.
He loved the outdoors and often went on trips with his dog, Joule, who had recently died.
The Department of Homeland Security said he was shot after he walked toward Border Patrol officers with a handgun, but they did not say if he pointed the gun. Videos from people nearby show Pretti holding a phone, and no video clearly shows him with a gun. His family said he owned a gun and had a legal permit, but they had never known him to carry it.
Pretti's parents first learned about the shooting from a news reporter. They watched the video and believed the person killed was their son. They tried calling the police, Border Patrol, and hospitals, but could not get answers. Later, the medical examiner confirmed there was a body matching their son's name and description. The family said no federal agency had contacted them.
After officials called their son a "domestic terrorist," the family said they were heartbroken. They said videos show he was holding his phone and trying to protect a woman who was being sprayed with pepper spray, not carrying a gun. They asked people to tell the truth.
Pretti was a U.S. citizen born in Illinois. Court records show he had no criminal history, and his family said he had only minor traffic tickets. He grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, played sports in high school, was a Boy Scout, and sang in a boys' choir. He later studied at the University of Minnesota and graduated in 2011. He first worked as a research scientist and later returned to school to become a nurse.
