Donald Trump briefly addresses the fatal shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti by ICE agents, offering a disapproving but vague response.
Donald Trump has spoken out on the fatal shooting of 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti, who was killed by federal agents in Minneapolis at the weekend.
The president’s four-word response, “I don’t like it”, came after Pretti was gunned down in broad daylight by ICE officers. The incident has sparked widespread outrage, with Trump offering a brief but telling remark on the tragedy.
Pretti was shot on Saturday after federal agents claimed, without evidence, that he approached them while armed. However, videos taken at the scene show him holding a phone, not a weapon, when he was wrestled to the ground and shot multiple times.
Despite this, the Trump administration has continued to paint Pretti as a “would-be assassin,” even suggesting his actions amounted to “domestic terrorism.”
When asked about the incident by reporters, Trump offered a more reserved response than expected, reports the Mirror. “I don’t like any shooting,” he said, expressing disapproval of the violence. However, he quickly added, “But I don’t like it when somebody goes into a protest and he’s got a very powerful, fully-loaded gun with two magazines loaded up with bullets also.”
This statement aligns more with the federal narrative that Pretti, a licensed gun owner, was armed at the time of the shooting.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem echoed this sentiment, claiming that Pretti was “brandishing” a gun. Yet, video footage from the scene clearly shows Pretti holding only his phone, while a concealed firearm was removed from his waistband by agents moments before he was shot.
Pretti’s family has vocally rejected these claims, calling them “sickening lies” and demanding the truth be told. In an emotional statement, the family remembered Alex as “a good man,” describing how he was surrounded by “murdering and cowardly ICE thugs” just before his death.
“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 said. “Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz also condemned the actions of ICE, mocking their quick judgment of the situation. “Thank God we have video, because according to DHS, these seven heroic guys took an onslaught of a battalion against them,” he said, quoting George Orwell’s 1984. “They’re telling you not to trust your eyes and ears.”
