The man fatally shot by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis is Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a U.S. citizen with no criminal record, according to a senior law enforcement official familiar with the investigation.
Mr. Pretti, who was 37, had a firearms permit, required by state law in Minnesota to carry a handgun, officials said. He was a registered nurse in Minnesota, public records show, and lived in an apartment in Minneapolis a short drive away from where he was killed.
Dr. Dimitri Drekonja, a colleague of Mr. Pretti’s, said that Mr. Pretti was a nurse in the intensive-care unit at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Minneapolis.
The two have worked together for years, Dr. Drekonja said. Mr. Pretti was capable, competent and friendly, he said, the kind of person who cared deeply about his work and his patients.
“He was a really great colleague and a really great friend,” he said. “The default look on his face was a smile.”
The two chatted regularly about mountain biking, one of Mr. Pretti’s passions.
Family members of Mr. Pretti did not respond to messages seeking comment.
A next-door neighbor, Jeanne Wiener, said she saw Mr. Pretti walk his dog frequently, and would speak with him several times a week.
Standing in her home, Ms. Wiener said she was shocked to hear of his death.
“We talk over the fence all the time,” she said. “He’s the sweetest, kindest, most unoffensive, most nonviolent person you’d ever want to meet.”
Ruth Anway, who worked with Mr. Pretti, described him as a passionate colleague and kindhearted friend with a sharp sense of humor.
Ms. Anway, a nurse, said she first met Mr. Pretti around 2014 when he was a research assistant at the hospital. She said she had encouraged him to pursue nursing.
“He really thrived in that environment,” she said in a phone interview on Saturday. “He wanted to be helpful, to help humanity and have a career that was a force of good in the world.”
In his free time, she said, Mr. Pretti loved to bike the trails around Minneapolis, and spent time with his dog, Joule.
Ms. Anway said Mr. Pretti followed the news closely and cared deeply about social justice and fighting for fairness.
“I’m not surprised he was out there protesting and observing,” she said.
Maia Coleman contributed reporting.
Corina Knoll is a Times correspondent focusing on feature stories.
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