The Minnesota man who was killed by federal agents on Saturday has been identified as Alex Pretti, 37, a registered nurse working in the intensive care unit at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System, which serves veterans.

It’s the second fatal shooting this month in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in addition to another non-fatal shooting, amid a major crackdown in Minnesota by federal agents.

Pretti attended nursing school at the University of Minnesota, where he was also a junior scientist beginning in 2012, according to his LinkedIn profile.

“He wanted to help people,” said Dimitri Drekonja, chief of infectious diseases at the VA hospital and professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota, who worked with Pretti at the hospital and on a research project. “He was a super nice, super helpful guy – looked after his patients. I’m just stunned.”

He described Pretti as an “outstanding” nurse and a hard worker, quick with a joke and an “infectious” spirit. “He was such a good dude,” Drekonja told the Guardian. “I just love working with him.”

Michael Pretti, Alex’s father, echoed Drekonja’s assessment, describing his son to the Associated Press as someone who “cared about people deeply and he was very upset with what was happening in Minneapolis and throughout the United States with ICE, as millions of other people are upset.”

“He felt that doing the protesting was a way to express that, you know, his care for others,” the elder Pretti said.

Pretti’s father confirmed to the AP that his son had participated in protests following the killing of Renee Good by a US Immigration and Customs Law Enforcement officer earlier this month.

Videos circulating online on Saturday show Pretti directing traffic and filming federal agents, his right hand holding up his phone and his left hand empty. Another video shows him being wrestled to the ground by several law enforcement officers before appearing to be shot several times. At least two officers can be seen with their weapons drawn. Other videos show Pretti seemingly coming to the defense of a legal observer who was shoved to the ground by a federal officer. That officer then sprays Pretti with a chemical agent, repeatedly, before tackling him to the street along with other agents.

As at least five agents surround Pretti on the ground, one appears to fire a shot at him at close range, followed by a volley of more shots, after which his body goes still.

“From what I can see, he was trying to help pull someone away, which is just totally in character for him,” Drekonja said.

Related: 37-year-old US citizen shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis

Police chief Brian O’Hara later said during a press conference on Saturday that Pretti’s only known previous interaction with law enforcement was for traffic tickets. O’Hara also noted Pretti was “a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry”.

Pretti’s parents, who live in Wisconsin, told the AP that during a recent conversation with their son, they warned him about being careful during protests.

“We had this discussion with him two weeks ago or so, you know, that go ahead and protest, but do not engage, do not do anything stupid, basically,” Michael Pretti said. “And he said he knows that. He knew that.”

When Pretti was in nursing school, Drekonja hired him to help support a study on preventing C diff, a devastating bacterial infection. “He was instrumental in completing our trial,” Drekonja said. “He was always asking the rest of the team what he could do. He was always trying to do what he could to free up space for others.”

Pretti obtained his nursing license in 2021, and it was active through 2026. He also assisted on research in 2016.

The Minnesota Organization of Registered Nurses (MNORN) released a statement about Pretti’s death Saturday afternoon: “Today, our nursing community is grieving. We have lost a fellow registered nurse to an act of violence connected to immigration enforcement. Regardless of where each of us stands on the issues surrounding this moment, the loss of a nurse, a caregiver, a colleague, a human being cuts us deeply.

“This message is not about politics. It is about mourning a life taken too soon and honoring the calling we all share. As nurses, we understand loss in a way others may not understand. We know how quickly life can change, how fragile safety can feel, and how pain reaches far beyond one individual to families, coworkers, patients, and communities. When one nurse is lost, all of us feel it.”

Pretti loved mountain biking, and he and Drekonja always talked about biking together on the trails they both frequented.

“He found humor in life, and that’s what’s just so sad about seeing this,” Drekonja said. “It’s just a huge tragedy.”