Alex Pretti shooting row: Border Patrol agent who shot Minneapolis nurse identified? First details emerge

Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a Minneapolis nurse, was fatally shot by a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis on Saturday.

Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a Minneapolis nurse, was fatally shot by a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis on Saturday. The 37-year-old worked at a local veterans' hospital and ‘wanted to make a difference’, his family members said. The Trump administration and the DHS defended federal agents, saying they fired ‘defensive shots’.

Social media users claim that they have identified the Border Patrol agent who shot Pretti. Several said the officer was an Evan Kilgore. (AFP)

Evan Kilgore claims

Now, social media users claim that they have identified the Border Patrol agent who shot Pretti. Several said the officer was an Evan Kilgore.

“ICE agent who murdered Alex Pretti. His name is Evan Kilgore,” one person posted on X, platform formerly known as Twitter. They also attached a photo of a man in an agent's uniform.

“Add another degenerate thrill rider who murdered yesterday. Evan Kilgore murdered Alex Pretti. ICE is trying hard to normalize random executions as ICE agent thrill rides,” another person tweeted.

What's the truth?

Authorities have not identified the Border Patrol agent yet. There is no confirmation about Kilgore being the officer who killed Pretti. In fact, Evan Kilgore is a conservative commentator who has been defending ICE's actions in Minneapolis.

“I am taking these threats extremely seriously and documenting them all for a potential defamation suit,” he tweeted, tagging a person who apparently threatened him on Sunday.

Slamming protests in Minneapolis, Kilgore, who has over 185K followers on X, tweeted: “If the DOJ doesn't find and prosecute every single one of the organized, trained, and violent insurrectionists, who are disrupting law enforcement operations in Minneapolis, then the Trump Administration will go down as a f*****g joke.”

Alex Pretti shooting

Pretti, 37, was shot and killed while scuffling with immigration officials, less than three weeks after an ICE officer, identified as Jonathan Ross, shot and killed Renee Good, also 37, in her car.

Pretti was "a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends" and those he cared for at a Minneapolis Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital, his parents said in a statement on Saturday.

"Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately, he will not be with us to see his impact," his parents said.

Pretti graduated from high school in Green Bay, Wisconsin, in 2006, according to local media reports. He went to nursing school before joining the VA.

Pretti's parents said their son had stepped in front of a federal agent who shoved a woman protester shortly before his death.

"Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump's murdering and cowardly ICE thugs," his parents said in the statement.

“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.”

(With AFP inputs)