What do official VA personnel records show about Alex Pretti’s employment history?

1. What the published records and reporting say: VA ICU nurse and payroll/public records

Multiple outlets reporting on Pretti’s death identify him as a registered nurse who worked in the intensive care unit at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System and who cared for veterans there, a description repeated in profiles and obituaries (The Guardian, Military.com, Stars and Stripes) ^{[1] [2] [6]}. Public‑record reporting has further indicated payroll and earnings consistent with VA employment — one report cited a 2023 VA pay figure of about $90,783 — and state licensing records show his nursing license active through at least March 31, 2026, supporting the characterization of Pretti as an employed clinician rather than an anonymous contractor or volunteer ^{[3] [2]}.

2. The absence of a released VA personnel file and the limits of available evidence

Despite repeated references to “public records” and circulating screenshots of payroll data, reporting does not include a released, verifiable copy of an official, complete VA personnel file made public by the Department of Veterans Affairs; coverage instead relies on payroll screenshots, state licensing databases, employer and colleague statements, and reporting by local and national outlets ^{[7] [2] [3]}. The VA itself has not publicly released or confirmed a comprehensive personnel record showing disciplinary actions or termination tied to Pretti, and several fact‑checking articles caution that social posts claiming a VA firing are unverified ^{[5] [8] [4]}.

3. Claims about firing or misconduct: origin, propagation, and fact‑checks

Claims that Pretti had been fired from the VA for misconduct circulated widely on social media after his killing, but multiple outlets and fact‑checks trace those narratives to a fabricated article on a site called buzzreport247 and to unauthenticated social posts; fact‑checkers and reporting conclude there is no credible evidence that the VA fired him or that official personnel files substantiate the allegation ^{[4] [8] [5]}. Military.com explicitly notes the absence of credible evidence supporting the firing claim and that mainstream coverage frames Pretti as a medical professional rather than a terminated employee ^[5].

4. Corroborating testimony from colleagues and internal VA responses

Colleagues and supervisors at the Minneapolis VA have publicly mourned Pretti as a VA ICU nurse and described his clinical work and research participation, and internal VA employees reported both efforts to memorialize him and initial guidance from leadership limiting a public memorial — reporting that signals institutional recognition of him as an employee even as national VA leadership was cautious about messaging ^{[1] [9] [10]}. Those institutional actions have themselves become contested and politicized, with some veteran advocates accusing VA leadership of prioritizing political considerations over honoring staff ^{[11] [9]}.

5. What is provable, what remains unverified, and why it matters

Provable from the assembled reporting: Pretti was widely described in contemporaneous news and public records as a registered ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA, his nursing license was active in state records through March 2026, and payroll/public‑record reporting is consistent with VA employment ^{[1] [2] [3]}. Unverified or unproven in the public record: an official VA personnel file released by the Department showing formal disciplinary actions or termination; the specific internal details of any personnel actions are not documented in the cited reporting, and allegations of firing have been debunked by fact‑checkers as originating in fabricated accounts ^{[4] [8] [5]}. That distinction matters because opponents and supporters of law‑enforcement actions have repeatedly used employment narratives to justify or condemn the shooting, making clear, sourced information about VA records essential to public understanding — and those definitive VA personnel documents are not present in the reporting analyzed here ^{[9] [11]}.