A GoFundMe campaign for the family of Alex Pretti has swiftly surpassed its $20,000 fundraising goal and reached over $1 million.
The campaign, titled, “Alex Pretti is an American Hero,” was launched shortly after he was shot and killed by U.S. Border Patrol agents to help cover funeral, legal, and family expenses.
“This fundraiser is intended to support the loved ones he leaves behind with immediate and ongoing needs,” the fundraiser page said.
The fundraiser was started without having a next-of-kin identified, but an update said organizers had reached Pretti’s father and made him the beneficiary of the donations.
“Thank you to everyone who has been so generous either donating or sharing the fundraiser — you are what America can look like at our best,” Keith Edwards, the organizer, said.
The 37-year-old ICU nurse was killed by Border Patrol agents on Jan. 24 in Minneapolis. Pretti encountered federal agents while they were detaining another individual and approached the agents while recording them on his phone. Pretti got involved when agents pushed a woman near the scene, according to video footage. Government officials said he was impeding immigration operations.
According to Department of Homeland Security officials, Pretti was armed with a “9 mm semi-automic handgun,” and when agents tried to disarm him, he “violently resisted.” An agent “fearing for his life” fired a defensive shot, and more were heard thereafter, and killed Pretti.
Pretti’s death marked the second fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen by federal immigration enforcement personnel in Minneapolis in recent weeks, coming soon after the killing of Renee Nicole Good on Jan. 7.
Pretti’s family and supporters have rejected DHS claims that he posed a threat, pointing to video evidence suggesting he was only holding a cellphone and trying to help others when agents moved in.
HOMELAND INSECURITY: MELTDOWN IN MINNESOTA
The incident has flamed existing tensions in Minneapolis, where protests have continued in response to what critics call an overreach by the federal government.
President Donald Trump said he spoke with Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) to devise a plan to work together “with respect to Minnesota.” He added that both the governor and himself want to make the crime drop in the state even greater.