What official statements did the Minneapolis VA Medical Center and veterans’ affairs officials release about Alex Pretti’s employment?
Executive summary
The Minneapolis VA Medical Center and other veterans’ affairs voices publicly identified Alex Pretti as a registered ICU nurse who worked at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System, and local VA spokespeople issued limited operational guidance about memorials while national VA leadership’s response focused on a short confirmation rather than personnel detail or disciplinary claims [1] [2] [3] [4]. Union and congressional veterans‑affairs figures likewise described Pretti as a VA ICU nurse; separate reporting emphasizes that the VA has not publicly substantiated any claims that he had been fired or disciplined [1] [5] [6].
1. Minneapolis VA’s explicit employment identification and local spokesperson guidance
Local officials and representatives connected to the Minneapolis VA unambiguously described Pretti as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System: AFGE Professional Local 3669, which represents professional employees at the Minneapolis VA, identified Pretti as an ICU nurse in the immediate aftermath of the shooting and described his work there [1]. Minneapolis VA spokesperson Melanie Nelson told reporters that the organization was “still working to schedule” a memorial and that “VA employees are welcome to memorialize Alex Pretti in their own way as long as they are respectful and it does not interfere with their work duties,” language that framed the VA’s response as operational and constrained rather than as commentary on personnel status [3].
2. National VA leadership’s terse confirmation and limited engagement
At the national level, VA Secretary Doug Collins’s public engagement was minimal; one reported social‑media post amounted to a brief confirmation that “We can confirm Alex Pretti was a nurse at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center,” a line that media sources quoted as the administration’s only direct acknowledgment of his VA role rather than a wider statement on employment history or disciplinary matters [4]. Multiple outlets noted the absence of an expansive agency statement from the VA about employment status, disciplinary history, or any personnel actions [6].
3. Union, congressional and media repetition of VA employment status
Outside the VA’s own statements, veterans‑affairs stakeholders and elected officials reiterated Pretti’s role at the Minneapolis VA: AFGE described him as dedicating his life to serving veterans at the Minneapolis facility and Senator Richard Blumenthal released a statement explicitly identifying Pretti as a Department of Veterans Affairs ICU nurse [1] [5]. Major news organizations, including the Guardian and ABC News, reported the same employment fact, citing VA colleagues and records showing Pretti held a Minnesota nursing license and worked in the VA ICU [2] [1].
4. What officials did not say — denial of firing or discipline and the spread of misinformation
Veterans’ affairs officials and the Minneapolis VA did not substantiate online claims that Pretti had been fired or disciplined; fact‑checking outlets and reporting trace those allegations to fabricated articles and unnamed sources, and multiple outlets concluded the viral claims were false while noting the VA had not issued any statement confirming employment problems [7] [8] [9] [6]. Reporting highlighted family and colleague statements that framed Pretti as an active ICU nurse and denounced misinformation, and independent fact checks found no evidence he had worked elsewhere or been terminated as the viral posts alleged [10] [11].
5. Operational posture: memorials, employee sentiment, and institutional restraint
Beyond confirming employment, the Minneapolis VA’s public posture was managerial and circumspect: local leadership initially paused a memorial at the instruction of higher officials, according to reporting that cited internal emails and staff accounts, while publicly permitting respectful, non‑disruptive remembrance [3]. That stance, combined with an abbreviated national social‑media confirmation from the VA secretary, contributed to frustration among employees and union representatives who sought more robust acknowledgement and support [4] [3].
6. Reporting limitations and the narrow scope of official statements
Available reporting shows the official record from VA sources remained narrowly focused: confirmations that Pretti worked as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA, administrative instructions about memorial activities, and no public VA confirmation of firing or disciplinary records—while outside groups (union, family, members of Congress, and multiple news outlets) amplified the same employment identification [1] [3] [5] [2]. If additional or internal VA personnel records or fuller statements exist, they were not included in the reporting reviewed for this analysis.