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A pediatrician who attempted to save the life of Alex Pretti, a Minneapolis ICU nurse who was shot and killed by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents this past weekend, has alleged that agents denied Pretti medical care for several minutes after the shooting took place.
The witness’s version of events is detailed in a filing with a Minnesota-based federal court. The witness, whose name has been withheld in the document to protect their privacy, said that they saw Pretti “yelling at” immigration agents from their apartment beforehand, but that they “did not see him attack the agents or brandish a weapon of any kind.”
“From what I could see from my apartment, there was absolutely no need for any violence, let alone lethal force by multiple officers,” the witness statement said.
After federal agents shot Pretti, the witness indicated they “immediately put on [their] boots and coat, ran outside,” and approached the agents “who were near the victim.”
At first, the CBP agents wouldn’t let the witness, a licensed pediatrician, through to help Pretti, repeatedly demanding to see paperwork proving they were a health care worker.
“I insisted that the agents let me assess him,” the witness explained in their statement, noting that none of the federal agents surrounding Pretti were performing CPR. “Normally, I would not have been so persistent, but as a physician, I felt a professional and moral obligation to help this man, especially since none of the agents were helping him.”
After several moments, the agents finally allowed the pediatrician to assess Pretti, following a pat-down to ensure they weren’t carrying any weapons. The witness said in their statement that, upon initial inspection, the agents had done a subpar job of treating Pretti. For example, Pretti was laid on his side, which “confused” the witness “because that is not standard practice when a victim has been shot.”
“Checking for a pulse and administering CPR is standard practice. Instead of doing either of those things, the ICE agents appeared to be counting his bullet wounds,” the witness said in their written testimony.
After moving Pretti to his back, the witness said they “checked for a pulse” but didn’t feel one.
“I immediately began CPR. Shortly after I started compressions, EMS personnel arrived and took over,” they said.
The witness remained at the scene for a few minutes longer before returning to their apartment. However, when federal agents started using tear gas on demonstrators shortly after, the witness said they once again left their apartment, despite wanting to shelter in place amid the chaos.
“I am devastated by the killing of a Minnesotan by multiple federal agents. From what I could tell, the victim was not actively threatening ICE agents or the public,” the witness said, adding, “A person should not be shot and killed for lawfully expressing their opinions.”
Federal immigration officers are trained to use CPR when a person is in need of the procedure. Pretti’s case is the second instance in which agents shot and killed a person in Minneapolis and blocked medical providers from reaching the victim.
Earlier this month, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents shot and killed Minneapolis resident Renee Nicole Good, who was attempting to drive away from agents who had surrounded her vehicle and were aggressively shouting orders. According to analyses of witness videos, 911 calls, and other records, ICE agents failed to administer CPR following the shooting, even though Good still had a pulse. After conducting what appeared to be a brief medical assessment, the agents left Good alone and bleeding in her car.
When a physician offered to examine Good at the scene of the shooting, agents blocked the physician from reaching her.
“I’m a physician. Can I go check a pulse?” a physician asked after witnessing Good’s shooting.
“No! Back up! Now!” an ICE agent ordered.
“I’m a physician!” the person pleaded, to which an agent responded by barking, “I don’t care!”
It took 10 minutes for anyone to begin administering CPR to Good’s body after she was shot and crashed into another vehicle.
In an op-ed shortly after Good’s death, Joseph V. Sakran, a trauma surgeon at Johns Hopkins University who was himself shot as a teenager, admonished ICE and other federal immigration agencies for blocking their victims from receiving desperately needed medical attention.
“Preventing a physician from treating a dying woman is not merely a procedural choice. It is a moral one. And it should alarm all of us,” Sakran said in his piece.
Sakran added:
The danger of moments like this extends beyond the life that was lost, though that loss alone should haunt us. The deeper danger is the precedent set. If armed authority can block medical care today, under what circumstances will it be acceptable tomorrow? Who decides when compassion becomes optional?
“We must continue to fight for prevention — to reduce violence before it happens, to build systems that save lives upstream,” Sakran said. “But when violence has already occurred, the measure of a society is how it treats the wounded. Care is not a reward. It is a duty.”
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