ICU Nurse Alex Pretti Killed by Feds in Minn. Held Phone, Not a Gun, Video Shows

Witness footage suggests the ICU nurse fatally shot by federal officers in Minneapolis was not armed at the moment he was killed, contradicting officials’ initial claims.

At around 9 a.m. local time on Saturday, Jan. 24, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officers were carrying out what the agency described as a targeted operation in Minneapolis involving an “illegal alien wanted for violent assault,” according to DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin.

Moments later, officers shot and killed Alex Pretti, 37.

In a statement posted on X, DHS said an individual “approached U.S. Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun” and “violently resisted” when agents tried to disarm him. DHS said an agent then “fired defensive shots.”

But footage verified by The New York Times appears to tell a different story. In the video, Pretti is seen standing among a group of protesters with both hands visible, holding his phone in one hand, as an agent sprays pepper spray toward the group.

Several agents then move in on Pretti. He does not appear to be holding or reaching for a weapon as he is forced to the ground and pinned on the sidewalk.

According to The Times, Pretti’s gun appeared to have already been unholstered by an agent before he was shot in the back. The Times reported he was hit by at least 10 shots fired within about five seconds.

Pretti’s family accused the Trump administration of spreading “sickening lies” about his death in a statement shared by the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party.

“We are heartbroken but also very angry…The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting,” said Pretti’s parents, Michael and Susan. “Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs.”

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“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,” they continued. “Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man.”

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said Pretti had no known criminal record at the time of his death and was a lawful gun owner.

At a Saturday press conference, O’Hara said there was “more than one law enforcement officer involved in the discharge,” and that public video shows several officers “in a scuffle with someone.”

Asked about DHS’s version of events, O’Hara said: “The video speaks for itself.”

DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Jan. 25.