Elk Grove Vigil Planned to Honor Alex Pretti, ICU Nurse Executed in Minneapolis
The vigil is this Sunday
A community vigil is planned Sunday to honor the life of Alex Pretti, the Minneapolis intensive care nurse whose fatal shooting by federal immigration agents has ignited national outrage and deepened debate over enforcement tactics.
Indivisible Elk Grove – Laguna is organizing a peaceful candlelight vigil from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Sunday in front of the Designer Shoe Warehouse at the corner of Bruceville Road and Laguna Boulevard. Organizers said the event will bring people together to mourn Pretti’s death, stand with Minneapolis communities, and “reject the brutality carried out by federal immigration enforcement.”
Pretti, a 37-year-old American citizen and ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center, was shot and killed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents Jan. 24 during an operation tied to a broader immigration enforcement surge in Minneapolis. Video and witness accounts viewed by multiple news outlets show Pretti was holding a cellphone, not a firearm, in the moments before he was tackled and shot.
The Minneapolis incident, one of a series involving federal immigration agents this month, has sparked protests nationwide and prompted scrutiny of the Department of Homeland Security’s claims about Pretti’s actions and intent. Officials initially falsely claimed Pretti was adomestic terrorist.
Organizers of Sunday’s vigil urged participants to bring candles, signs of solidarity, or simply their presence to “share space and lift up the values that define us: compassion, solidarity, and the unwavering belief that every human life matters.”
The planned visibility event in Elk Grove reflects local solidarity with Minneapolis residents and others nationwide who have protested Pretti’s death and broader immigration-enforcement policies.
