Alex Petti's Alleged Final Words Before Passing

A chaotic encounter on a Minneapolis street has ignited national debate, sparked outrage online, and raised urgent questions about how a confrontation ended in gunfire.

Bystander videos, family statements, and witness accounts now paint a portrait of a man in Minneapolis whose final moments were not defined by aggression but by concern for someone else.

What happened next and what he is believed to have said have become the emotional center of a growing public reckoning.

Family Describes a Son Devoted to Healing and Service

On Sunday, the family of Alex Pretti responded publicly after the 37-year-old was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Saturday, January 24, 2026.

In a statement shared with Hindustan Times, Pretti's parents, Michael Pretti and Susan Pretti, described their son as compassionate, selfless, and deeply committed to caring for others.

"We are heartbroken but also very angry," the statement read. "Alex was 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. Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately, he will not be with us to see his impact."

The parents also emphasized what they believe defines his final moments:

"I do not throw around the hero term lightly. However, his last thought and act was to protect a woman."

A Scuffle, Conflicting Claims, and Video Evidence

According to the Department of Homeland Security and the Trump administration, Pretti was carrying a firearm and pulled it during a scuffle with ICE agents. However, multiple bystander-recorded videos appear to challenge that version of events.

The footage suggests that although Pretti was carrying a licensed firearm, he did not raise or point it at officers. Further analysis from Sky News describes a harrowing sequence captured on video: Pretti is on his knees when the first shot is fired and appears motionless when at least nine more shots follow.

The visual evidence has intensified public scrutiny over the use of force and whether lethal action was justified.

Alex Pretti's Alleged Final Words

Amid the circulating footage and online reactions, two short phrases have emerged repeatedly, words that many believe capture Pretti's final moments.

Witnesses and reports say Pretti was attempting to intervene on behalf of a woman during the confrontation. "Don't touch her!" he reportedly told an ICE agent.

Moments later, he is said to have turned his attention to the woman and asked, "Are you okay?" Those words have become central to how supporters and loved ones remember him.

A Student Says His Final Words Match the Man He Knew

Social media commentator Brian Krassenstein shared a post on X from someone who identified as Pretti's final nursing student, offering a deeply personal perspective.

In the letter, the former student explains that Pretti served as both mentor and close friend during a four-month ICU capstone preceptorship at the Minneapolis VA Hospital, where he trained students to handle the most critically ill patients.

The student describes learning complex lifesaving procedures under Pretti's guidance, including managing arterial and central lines, juggling multiple IV medications, and monitoring vital signs with precision.

More than technical skills, the student recalls the deceased nurse's steady presence, his patience, compassion, and calm demeanor in the most intense medical situations.

The writer says Pretti consistently carried a quiet light within him, and that same calm composure was visible in the final moments captured on video.

According to the student, it comes as no surprise that Pretti's reported last words were, "Are you okay?" because caring for others was the core of his identity.

As investigations continue, Pretti's name has become synonymous not only with controversy surrounding law enforcement conduct but with the image of a young nurse whose final moments, according to those who knew him best, reflected the same compassion that defined his life.

As questions swirl around the chaotic confrontation and conflicting accounts of what unfolded on Nicollet Avenue, a clearer picture of Alex Pretti, the man at the center of it all, is emerging, illuminating not just how he died but who he was and the life he lived before that moment.

Pretti's age was first reported as 51, but updated records later identified him as 37.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz confirmed the shooting occurred during a broader federal immigration crackdown.

According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the man was armed with a firearm and two magazines. At the time, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin called it an "evolving" situation, adding that more details are still under review.

A bystander video obtained by AP offered more context.

In the footage, people blew whistles and shouted at agents. One officer pushed a person wearing a brown jacket, a green skirt, and black tights, who carried a water bottle. That individual reached toward a nearby man, and the two briefly embraced.

The man, dressed in a dark brown jacket and black hat, appeared to raise a phone toward the officer. The officer then shoved him in the chest, and both individuals fell backward.

The video briefly cut away, then returned to show them separating. Moments later, three officers surrounded the man, and the number quickly grew to at least seven.

One officer knelt on the man's back. Another, holding what appeared to be a canister, struck him in the chest. As they tried to restrain him, the man appeared to resist. His face became visible on camera before the officer struck him near the head several more times.

A gunshot followed, though the video did not clearly show its source. More shots rang out. Officers stepped back, and the man remained motionless on the pavement. At the time, his identity was not immediately released, but those who knew him later stepped forward.

Who He Was

Pretti was identified by family members and a colleague as the man who was fatally shot during a federal immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis.

He was a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and worked as an intensive care unit nurse at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital. He was born in Illinois and, according to court records reviewed by the AP, had no criminal record; only a few minor traffic violations.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Pretti studied nursing at the University of Minnesota, where he also began working as a junior scientist in 2012 at the university's medical school.

State records from the Minnesota Board of Nursing confirmed that he received his Registered Nurse (RN) license on January 19, 2021. The license was active at the time of his death and was set to expire in March 2026.

At the VA hospital, Pretti was known as a dedicated and compassionate caregiver. Dr. Dimitri Drekonja, chief of infectious diseases and a professor at the University of Minnesota, worked alongside him.

"He wanted to help people," Drekonja said. "He was a super nice, super helpful guy. Looked after his patients. I'm just stunned."He described Pretti as an "outstanding" nurse who was hardworking, quick with a joke, and brought an "infectious" spirit to the workplace.

Outside of medicine, Pretti cared deeply about the environment. According to his mother, Susan Pretti, he was especially upset by federal rollbacks of environmental protections.

"He hated that, you know, people were just trashing the land," she said. The mom added that Pretti loved the country but was increasingly troubled by what he believed was happening to it.

She said her son loved being outdoors and often brought his dog Joule, a Catahoula Leopard dog who had recently passed away, everywhere he went.

Pretti's father, Michael Pretti, said his son had been emotionally affected by recent federal immigration actions, including the earlier fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good.

"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 Pretti's dad. "He felt that doing the protesting was a way to express that, you know, his care for others."

As investigators work to piece together exactly how the encounter unfolded, the story of Alex Pretti is increasingly being told not only through conflicting official statements and grainy video clips but through the memories of those who knew him as a healer, a mentor, and a man guided by empathy.

For his family, colleagues, and former students, the push for accountability continues, but so does the effort to preserve who he truly was. Many say his legacy is defined not by the violence that ended his life, but by the compassion he showed in his final moments, a nurse who spent his life caring for others and was still thinking of someone else at the end.