Did Alex pretti get fired from his job
Executive summary
Multiple reputable news outlets and fact-checkers reporting on the January 2026 killing of Alex Pretti find no credible evidence that he was fired from his job as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA; the claim traces to a fabricated story on a fake-news site and has been debunked by organizations including BBC Verify, Snopes, Hindustan Times, and mainstream U.S. outlets [1] [2] [3] [4].
1. How the “fired” claim began and spread
The narrative that Alex Pretti had been terminated for misconduct appears to have originated with a fabricated article on a site called buzzreport247 and was amplified on social platforms, often paired with doctored images and unverified quotes attributed to a fictitious doctor; news organizations that traced the rumor found the item to be fake and noted the rapid viral spread of the allegation [5] [1] [3].
2. What reliable reporting actually shows about Pretti’s employment
Contemporary coverage from established outlets depicts Pretti as an active registered nurse at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center who had been working there for several years and held a nursing license that was active through 2026; colleagues and family members described him as a dedicated ICU nurse, and no reputable outlet has produced evidence of termination or disciplinary records showing he was fired [6] [4] [3].
3. Independent fact-checks and watchdogs debunk the firing allegation
Fact-checking organizations and international verification teams systematically debunked the firing story: Snopes and BBC Verify tracked the allegation to the fake website and labelled the claim false or unsubstantiated, while multiple news outlets summarized the absence of any official VA statement or credible records indicating Pretti was fired [2] [1] [7].
4. Why the false claim matters in this broader story
The false firing narrative has been used by some actors to shift attention away from the circumstances of Pretti’s killing and to stigmatize him posthumously; critics argue that fabricated background stories can serve political or organizational agendas by retroactively justifying force or discrediting victims, and unions and colleagues have publicly condemned what they call “sickening lies” about his life [4] [8].
5. Contrasting signals and limits of available reporting
Some social posts and partisan commentators pushed the termination claim and certain video frames of confrontations involving Pretti have been cited by supporters of enforcement authorities as context for his behavior in the days before the shooting, but responsible outlets note there is no verified employment termination to support the viral allegation and the VA has not confirmed any firing or disciplinary action in public records reviewed by reporters [7] [6].
6. Bottom line: did Alex Pretti get fired from his job?
On the balance of available, sourced reporting, no—there is no credible evidence that Alex Pretti was fired from his position as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA; the claim originated with a fabricated report, has been debunked by multiple fact-checkers and mainstream outlets, and contemporaneous reporting describes him as an employed VA nurse with an active license at the time of his death [5] [2] [3] [6].