Fact Check: Was Alex Pretti fired from his job as VA nurse?
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: Following the death of Alex Pretti, 37, who was shot by a Federal agent in Minneapolis on January 24, several rumors about him circulated across social media platforms, and most of those were debunked.
Recently, another rumor about Pretti surfaced across social media, claiming that he was fired from his job as a VA nurse following complaints of inappropriate behaviour. But is there any truth to this rumor? Let us find out below.
Claim: Alex Pretti was fired from his job as VA nurse
Alex Pretti's death has led to massive protests across the United States. Amid this, some X users posted a claim that Pretti was fired from his job as a VA nurse.
An X user wrote, "Hospital Director Speaks Out: Former Employee Alex Pretti Fired Three Months Ago Amid Multiple Complaints of Inappropriate Behavior."
The post attached a screenshot of a Facebook post making the same claim. It also had a link to an alleged news report on the website buzzreport247 which cited one Dr Elena Vasquez, purportedly associated with the Lakeshore Medical Center, where, per the report, Pretti was a former employee.
The report cited that the purported 'former employee' of Pretti alleged that he indulged in 'inappropriate behavior' with 'multiple patients', due to which the center supposedly received complaints from the patients.
The report even elaborated purported quotes by the supposed Dr Vasquez with allegations that Pretti was fired in October 2025 following an internal review, after "five documented incidents of inappropriate behavior."
Another X user posted, "How did this fun fact get missed by the mainstream media? Alex Pretti wasn’t an EMPLOYED NURSE. He was fired 3 months ago for 'inappropriate behavior'. Odd duck."
Fact check: Several info provided in the article are false
The claims made in the online rumors are false, as the report is one of the many false claims that are doing the rounds on social media after Alex Pretti's death.
Firstly, Pretti never worked for the Lakeshore Medical Center. Secondly, there is no Dr Elena Vasquez associated with the Lakeshore Medical Center, as claimed in the report.
Moreover, Pretti was working as a registered nurse in the intensive care unit at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System at the time of his death.
Pretti obtained his nursing licence in January 2021 after completing nursing school at the University of Minnesota. Some reports indicated that he put himself through nursing school by working at the VA hospital.
Furthermore, Pretti's colleagues have described him as a 'dedicated' ICU nurse, saying he had worked at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System for approximately five years before his death in January 2026.
Alex Pretti was part of anti-ICE group that confronted Border Patrol
Alex Pretti was among a small group of anti-ICE protesters who confronted Border Patrol agents during an arrest in south Minneapolis before he was fatally shot, according to activists, residents, and video footage reviewed by authorities.
The 37-year-old ICU nurse joined roughly 50 protesters who confronted Border Patrol agents as they detained an undocumented migrant, residents told the New York Post.
A woman named Blair said at a nearby coffee shop, "It was quiet. It was Saturday, and people weren’t working. Word got around that a bunch of ICE agents had shown up and were making rounds, so folks mobilized."
"It wasn’t that many people - maybe 50 altogether, which sounds like a lot, but it isn’t. “At about 8:30, I heard a bunch of gunshots, and we knew something bad had happened. The next thing we knew, ambulances showed up," she added.
