Did the family of Alex Pretti put out a statement
Executive summary
The family of Alex Pretti publicly issued a written statement in the immediate aftermath of his death, saying they were “heartbroken but also very angry” and describing him as a “kindhearted soul” and an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital [1] [2]. That statement was cited, read aloud, and reproduced across multiple outlets — including KARE 11, The Guardian, The Washington Post and local TV — and the family used it both to mourn and to directly challenge statements from the federal administration about the shooting [3] [2] [1].
1. The statement existed and where it was shared
Local and national outlets reported the family’s written statement within hours of the shooting; KARE 11 aired the reading of the statement and The Guardian noted the same text as read on that local channel, while The Washington Post said the family shared the statement with its reporters [3] [1] [2].
2. Who spoke for the family and the core language they used
The statement is attributed to Pretti’s parents, Michael and Susan Pretti, who used blunt language: “We are heartbroken but also very angry,” and described Alex as someone who “cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital,” language repeated across at least The Washington Post and KARE 11 [2] [1].
3. The family’s accusation against federal officials and political leaders
Beyond mourning, the family’s statement accused the Trump administration of spreading “sickening lies” about Alex’s actions at the scene — a direct rebuke quoted verbatim in multiple outlets — and the parents demanded that the truth about their son be told [4] [5]. Several outlets quoted the family saying videos showed Alex not holding a gun when agents tackled him and that administration characterizations were “reprehensible and disgusting,” language reported by Bring Me The News and WBAL-TV [4] [5].
4. How media and advocacy groups amplified the family message
National outlets and advocacy groups repeated or reacted to the family’s words; for example, Common Defense Civic Engagement issued its own statement saying Pretti “should still be alive,” while Amnesty International USA used the killing to criticize federal enforcement tactics — coverage that referenced the family statement as part of the broader narrative [6] [3]. Fox, NBC, and local stations all included family quotes or paraphrases when identifying Pretti and describing his work as an ICU nurse and his parents’ reaction [6] [7] [8].
5. Disputes over facts at the scene and the family’s evidentiary claims
The family pointed to bystander video and their own reading of footage to dispute the administration’s account that Pretti posed an armed threat, saying he held a phone and used an empty hand to shield a woman being pepper-sprayed — a claim reported by multiple outlets that also noted videos were being reviewed by journalists and investigators [4] [5] [9]. Reporting also shows the family told reporters they had difficulty getting information from federal agencies and hospitals in the hours after the killing, a detail cited by Fox and other outlets [6].
6. What the reporting does not establish from the family statement alone
The published family statement contains assertions about what video shows and about official descriptions; those are accurately reported by outlets, but independent verification of every contested factual detail — for instance the sequence of gun removal and shots fired — was still under investigation in the coverage provided here, and those technical facts are not resolved solely by the family’s statement [4] [9] [5].
7. Bottom line
Yes: Alex Pretti’s family publicly issued and disseminated a statement — quoted across local and national outlets — that both mourned him as an ICU nurse and a “kindhearted soul” and forcefully disputed the administration’s account of the shooting, calling official claims “sickening lies” and urging the truth be told [2] [4] [1].