In a voice trembling with grief and defiance, the woman Alex Pretti died trying to protect has finally spoken out, delivering a bombshell account that shreds the official narrative and fuels nationwide fury over the January 24, 2026, fatal shooting in Minneapolis. “He was just trying to help me,” she declared in sworn testimony filed in federal court, painting a vivid picture of chaos, pepper spray, and sudden lethal force that claimed the life of the 37-year-old ICU nurse who stepped in when federal agents shoved her to the ground during a heated immigration enforcement operation.
The woman, who remains anonymous for safety reasons amid fears that agents are “looking for” witnesses, described the morning of January 24 as ordinary until it turned deadly. She was near the intersection of East 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue in the Whittier neighborhood, observing federal Border Patrol and ICE agents attempting to enter a local restaurant as part of a targeted arrest in the ongoing Operation Metro Surge—the largest immigration crackdown in U.S. history. Tensions were already sky-high after two prior shootings in the city: the January 7 fatal killing of Renée Nicole Good and a non-fatal wounding of a Venezuelan man.
According to her detailed affidavit, agents grew aggressive when denied entry. One pushed her hard to the pavement, sending her sprawling amid shouts and whistles from bystanders. “I hit the ground hard,” she recounted. “I was dazed, trying to get up, when this man—Alex—came over. He didn’t have a gun in his hand. He had his phone in one hand, recording everything like so many of us were, and he reached out with the other to help me stand. That’s all he was doing—helping someone who’d been knocked down.”
Moments later, everything escalated. An agent sprayed chemical irritant directly into her face and Pretti’s, blinding them both. “It burned so bad I couldn’t see,” she said. “Alex raised his empty hand, trying to shield us or signal he wasn’t a threat. He wasn’t fighting back—he was just protecting me from the spray and trying to get me back on my feet.” Multiple agents swarmed Pretti, tackling him to the asphalt. She watched in horror as four or five officers pinned him down. “He wasn’t resisting violently. It didn’t look like he was trying to fight at all. They just started shooting—over and over.”
Bystander videos corroborate her account: Pretti holds his phone aloft, directing traffic around the scene, then moves to assist the fallen woman. No gun is visible in his hands before the takedown. One clip shows an agent reaching toward Pretti’s waistband after he’s on the ground, retrieving what DHS later identified as a Sig Sauer 9mm pistol—legally owned and permitted, according to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara. But witnesses insist Pretti never brandished it or threatened anyone.
The woman’s testimony directly contradicts explosive claims from top Trump administration officials. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem labeled Pretti a “gunman” who arrived “to inflict maximum damage” and commit “domestic terrorism.” Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino called him a suspect who “wanted to massacre law enforcement,” insisting agents fired “defensive shots” after Pretti “violently resisted” disarmament. Yet her words—and multiple videos—paint a different picture: a good Samaritan gunned down for intervening in what he saw as excessive force against a civilian.
Pretti, an intensive care nurse at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System, was remembered by colleagues as a “kind-hearted soul” who went the extra mile for veterans, always quick with a joke and an infectious spirit. Friends described him as an avid outdoorsman who loved mountain biking, a Democratic voter who protested after George Floyd’s murder, and a man who “always stood for people and human rights.” His parents, Michael and Susan Pretti, condemned the administration’s “sickening lies,” noting in a statement that their son held his phone in one hand and raised the other to protect the woman while being pepper-sprayed. “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,” they wrote. “Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man.”
The woman’s fear is palpable. “I don’t feel like I can go home,” she testified. “I heard agents were looking for me.” She stood just five feet from Pretti when the shots rang out—at least 10 in five seconds, according to analyses by major outlets. She saw no justification for lethal force. “There was absolutely no need for any violence, let alone lethal force by multiple officers,” she said. Her account aligns with a pediatrician who rushed to the scene, only to be blocked initially from providing aid while agents allegedly counted wounds instead of performing CPR.
The shooting marks the third federal-involved incident in Minneapolis in weeks, igniting massive protests, clashes, and calls to abolish ICE. NBA stars Tyrese Haliburton labeled it “murder,” Breanna Stewart demanded ICE’s end, and vigils drew thousands. Minnesota leaders, including Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, blasted the operation as unsafe and untrained, while a federal judge ordered evidence preservation amid ACLU lawsuits challenging the crackdown.
As body-cam footage remains under review by DHS investigators—despite state officials being blocked from access—the woman’s words hang heavy: Alex Pretti lost his life for trying to help. In a city scarred by repeated federal violence, her testimony demands answers. Who pushed her down? Why was aid delayed? And why was a man with a phone and a helping hand met with a hail of bullets?
Minneapolis mourns a hero nurse whose final act was compassion in chaos. The woman he saved now carries his memory—and the weight of speaking truth to power. “He didn’t deserve this,” she said. “He was just trying to help me.”
