'The violent death of one of our own': VA employees ask for more from their agency after nurse is fatally shot

Veterans Affairs Department employees are requesting additional services and memorials from management after a nurse at the agency was fatally shot by federal officers this weekend, but so far have received minimal communication. 

Alex Jeffrey Pretti, 37, was an intensive care unit nurse at the VA Medical Center in Minneapolis before he was killed on Saturday. Pretti gathered with other protestors as Border Patrol was conducting what it called a targeted operation to detain an individual it said was in the country illegally. Pretti kept a firearm holstered and approached the officers holding his phone before he was taken to the ground by several federal agents and shot by at least one of them. 

VA did not address the situation until Sunday, when Secretary Doug Collins expressed condolences for Pretti’s family while blaming his political opponents for the fatal events. 

“Such tragedies are unfortunately happening in Minnesota because of state and local officials’ refusal to cooperate with the federal government to enforce the law and deport dangerous illegal criminals,” Collins said. 

Employees across the country said they received no acknowledgment of Pretti’s death, though one official said a high-level message was sent to department leaders expressing empathy and reminding them that resources were available to employees. A VA spokesperson in Minneapolis declined to comment on what outreach, if any, the department has provided to its workers there, pointing instead to Collins' statement.

Many VA employees themselves were looking for more of an acknowledgement from leadership. Doug Massey, president of the American Federation of Government Employees chapter that represents VA's headquarters employees, said agency staff across the country had reached out to him to express their disappointment with Collins' message. Pretti was a "a colleague, a caregiver and a human being," Massey said, who should not be used as a political talking point.  

“For many, this was not just a news story,” the union official and 29-year VA employee said. “It was the violent death of one of our own.”

He added that leadership plays a critical role in these moments and said Collins missed the mark. 

“VA employees are not asking for rhetoric,” Massey said. “We are asking for restraint, empathy, and moral clarity. We want to know that when tragedy strikes, our leadership sees us first as people, not as symbols or backdrops.”

He asked Collins to apologize and for VA to lower all flags to half-staff until Pretti's funeral "in recognition of his service as a VA nurse and federal employee." He also said VA should ensure grief counseling and other mental health services are available to employees in Minneapolis and anyone else who is struggling. The availability of those offerings should be clearly communicated, he added. 

Elsewhere in government, federal employees took note that Pretti was a part of their extended community. 

“As a Veterans Affairs nurse, Alex took the same oath we did: to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic,” Save HHS, a group of several hundred current and former Health and Human Services Department employees said in a statement. They said they were “deeply shaken” by Pretti’s death, whom they identified as a colleague, and called for reforms within the Homeland Security Department to limit deployments of their personnel and provide greater oversight.

Everett Kelley, AFGE’s national president, called on his members to demonstrate restraint even as he joined them in their mourning. 

“I urge everyone to remain disciplined and measured in public, even as we are rightly angry,” Kelley said. “Still, we must do what we can to maintain peace and calm.”

Mat Silverman, president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, meanwhile, said his members should be supported and "not second guessed in real time as they carry out their duties under extraordinary pressure." Silverman said "adherence to the rule of law" would help prevent further tragedies. Trump administration officials have repeatedly suggested without evidence that Pretti incited violence.

“Federal law enforcement officers rely on extensive training, clearly defined policies, and the rule of law to guide their actions,” Silverman said. “When officers perceive a threat, they must act decisively to protect themselves, their fellow officers, and the public. Officer safety is inseparable from public safety.”