Bay Area protesters rally after ICU nurse Alex Pretti fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis
In the streets of San Francisco, calls for solidarity were launched with Minneapolis, where a 37-year-old man was fatally shot by a federal agent on Saturday.
Protesters from across the Bay Area and beyond gathered hours after the shooting of Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse at a Veterans Affairs hospital.
“I am shocked and deeply saddened that one of my colleagues was murdered in cold blood by the modern-day Gestapo this morning,” said Steven Koster, an intensive care nurse in San Francisco. “I hope everyone takes the courage that Alex showed this morning. He comforted and led another person to safety during the protests, and I hope everyone takes courage.”
MORE: What we know about Alex Pretti, intensive care nurse killed by federal agent in Minneapolis shooting
“I think there’s a lot of things going on right now that America should be a little ashamed of,” said Bailey Brown, an Oakland resident. “I think we need to love each other and be able to support each other.”
Saturday’s shooting was committed by a Border Patrol agent and was the second fatal shooting this month of a U.S. citizen in Minneapolis by a federal agent. Earlier this month, Renee Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent.
“I just think it’s crazy to think that immigrants are not an essential part of our country. It’s terrifying, horrifying, what’s happening and how an entire community is being terrorized,” said Alma Prins, a Berkeley resident.
MORE: Man shot, killed by federal agents in Minneapolis, identified; DHS says man was armed
The Department of Homeland Security says Pretti approached Border Patrol agents with a semi-automatic handgun and “violently resisted” when they attempted to disarm him.
Local authorities disputed this characterization.
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