13 things about Minneapolis, Minnesota’s Alex Pretti

Alex Jeffrey Pretti was an Italian-American intensive care nurse at a United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Aside from Minnesota, he lived in other U.S. states including Illinois and Wisconsin.

BIOGRAPHY

Pretti was an avid outdoorsman and a competitive bicycle racer. He lived alone in a four-unit condominium building in Lyndale, Minneapolis, which was around 2 miles away from where he was killed.

After working as a research scientist, Pretti returned to school to become a registered nurse. Here are 13 more things about him:

1. He was born in Illinois to Michael Pretti and Susan Pretti.
2. He grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin and sang in the Green Bay Boy Choir.
3. He owned a handgun. 
4. In 2006, he graduated from Preble High School in Green Bay.
5. In 2011, he graduated from the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota with a bachelor’s degree in biology, society and the environment.
6. In 2012, he joined the University of Minnesota Medical School as a junior scientist.
7. In 2014, he was hired as a research assistant in the clinical research program at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System in Minneapolis.
8. In 2020, while living with his former wife in Minneapolis, he participated in the street protests after the killing of George Floyd.
9. In 2021, he became an registered nurse in Minnesota.
10. In 2022, he obtained a permit to carry a concealed handgun in Minnesota.
11. In 2023, he and his then wife divorced.
12. In 2024, his Catahoula Leopard dog Joule died.
13. In 2026, he died at age 37.

TIMELINE

Alex played football, baseball and ran track for Preble High School. He had no criminal record and was an American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 3669 member.

2000s

• In May 2006, he graduated from Preble High School.

2010s

• In May 2011, he graduated from the University of Minnesota.
• In February 2012, he became a University of Minnesota Medical School junior scientist.

2020s

• He was one of the U.S. citizens who were angered by the killing of Renee Nicole Good, who was fatally shot in Minneapolis on January 7, 2026 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Jonathan Ross.
• On January 24, 2026, U.S. Border Patrol agents pepper-sprayed him, wrestled him to the ground and fatally shot him  at the intersection of 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue in Whittier, Minneapolis.