About a year before nurse Alex Pretti was fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis, he delivered a tribute for one of his patients — a moment now being widely shared online following his own controversial death.
“Today we remember that freedom is not free. We have to work at it, nurture it, protect it and even sacrifice for it,” Pretti said while honoring Terrance Lee Randolph, according to a video recorded shortly after Randolph’s death on Dec. 10, 2024.
Randolph’s obituary described him as a “cherished husband, father, grandfather, and friend.” He was 77.
The clip resurfaced on social media last week after Pretti was killed. In the post, a user identifying himself as Randolph’s son, Mac, said Pretti had cared for Randolph while he was in the intensive care unit at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center.
“He read my dad’s final salute at the VA after he passed away. Never wanted to share this video, but his speech is very on point,” Mac wrote in the caption.
Mac also spoke to the Associated Press about his family’s experience with Pretti.
“He was extremely knowledgeable and caring,” Mac told the AP. “He was able to answer any questions we had and would really hear out our concerns. He treated my father and our family with the utmost dignity and respect. He was truly one of the best of us.”
In the video, Pretti stands at the head of what appears to be Randolph’s hospital bed and reads a final tribute. He closes with a moment of silence as the bed is escorted away.
“May we never forget to always remember our brothers and sisters who have served so we may enjoy the gift of freedom,” Pretti says.
Pretti, 37, was shot and killed by federal officers in Minneapolis on Saturday, Jan. 24, amid an enforcement crackdown on immigrants without legal status that has sparked protests and unrest.
Authorities and witnesses have offered sharply different accounts of what happened. Homeland Security officials have described Pretti as an armed agitator and said the shooting was “defensive.”
Video from the scene has fueled backlash to that characterization, appearing to show Pretti holding a phone before agents swarm him.
Videos from the altercation indicate Pretti was carrying a weapon but not holding it at the time. He was also licensed to carry a handgun, according to the reporting.
In a statement, Pretti’s family rejected the administration’s version of events.
“The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting,” the statement said.
“Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs,” the family 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.”
Trump administration officials have disputed that view.
“The suspect decided to inject himself into a law enforcement action,” Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino said on CNN on Sunday, Jan. 25.
“What’s not being said here is the fact that Border Patrol agents and law enforcement are conducting a targeted law enforcement effort against a violent illegal alien that was nearby,” Bovino said, “and that suspect injected himself into that law enforcement situation with a weapon.”
An investigation is ongoing.
