Source: Radio New Zealand
Nurse Alex Pretti, 37, was shot and killed by federal immigration agents on 24 January 2026. US Department of Veteran Affairs
A union representing Kiwi nurses has expressed “disgust” at the death of a fellow medical professional in the United States at the hands of government agents.
Alex Pretti, 37, was shot and killed by immigration officers during a protest in Minneapolis on Saturday (US time).
The government-employed intensive care nurse had been helping direct traffic during a protest against the Trump administration’s supposed immigration crackdown in the city.
Video showed he was assisting a woman who had been pushed to the ground by an agent when he was pinned to the ground, pepper-sprayed, disarmed and then shot 10 times by federal agents.
Government officials have said Pretti “approached” agents with a pistol and then “violently resisted” being disarmed.
While legally armed, video at the scene analysed by multiple media organisations shows Pretti did not draw his weapon during the confrontation.
Pretti was employed by the US Department of Veterans Affairs, which looks after the needs of the country’s military veterans.
The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) said it was “increasingly concerned at the callous and aggressive attacks” by the US government on its own people. Pretti’s death came two weeks after a mother-of-three was shot dead by agents in the same city.
“It seems that nobody is safe, and when health workers are losing their lives on the street it is gravely concerning,” kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku said.
In both shooting deaths, Trump administration officials made claims about the circumstances that were contradicted by video evidence.
Pretti’s parents said a government claims he was an “assassin” and a “domestic terrorist” were “sickening lies”.
NZNO said it stood with “health workers everywhere and… with all peoples aspiring for freedom from an oppressive system and unprovoked attacks”.
“Nurses are always at the forefront of ensuring the safety and well-being of their communities,” Nuku said. “We are appalled that health workers and communities in general in the US live in constant fear of being indiscriminately harassed, assaulted and even killed.
“Nurses in particular are carers and protectors. Alex was an ICU nurse, so cared for patients when they were at their most vulnerable.”
Those who worked with Pretti described him as a “kind-hearted soul” and a “good, kind person who lived to help”.
Minnesota state officials have called for an end to the federal government’s operation in the city.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
