Seven months after Alex Pretti was shot and killed by two federal immigration officers in Minneapolis, his family is speaking publicly for the first time and saying they want accountability for the people involved. The interview with Michael Pretti and Susan Pretti was scheduled to air Tuesday at 7 a.m. on Good Morning America.
For Michael Pretti, the timing matters because the family says it still has not seen anyone held responsible. He said the videos are clear, the facts are not in dispute and the demand is simple: justice for his son, a 37-year-old American citizen and ICU nurse for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Michael Pretti said Alex was watching immigration activity when the shooting happened. Eyewitness video shows Alex appeared to be recording when a federal officer shoved a woman into him, then tried to help her after she was knocked into him. The video also shows both of his hands visible before he was wrestled to the ground, one hand holding a phone, and shows an officer removing his firearm while he was down before roughly 10 shots were fired.
The family says the footage leaves little room for doubt. Susan Pretti said she recognized her son's jacket and sunglasses in the video, and Michael Pretti said he and his wife found out their son had been shot while watching the coverage on TV. He said there was more effort in vilifying Alex than pursuing justice, a reference to public comments from Greg Bovino, Kristi Noem, Stephen Miller and Donald Trump that cast him as a threat rather than a man who had been killed.
That dispute has become part of a larger fight over federal force in Minneapolis. Renee Good was shot and killed by an ICE officer there roughly two weeks before Alex Pretti died, and both deaths sparked nationwide outrage and renewed demands for accountability. The shooting happened during the Trump administration's Operation Metro Surge immigration crackdown, and seven months later the family says the central question remains the same: whether anyone involved has been held to account.
Michael Pretti said his son cared deeply about his community and wanted people to be treated fairly, no matter their background. Susan Pretti said she was not shocked that he tried to help the woman, but said she is shocked that he was killed and that no one has given the family the complete truth. For now, the most immediate next step is the interview itself, set to air Tuesday morning, as the family presses for answers that have not come.
