Seattle hospital workers mourn Alex Pretti, nurse killed by border patrol in Minneapolis

Dozens of nurses and staff at Seattle's Harborview Medical Center held a vigil Monday evening for Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old man shot and killed in Minneapolis on Saturday during ongoing anti-ICE protests.

Nurses stood silently in the frigid air Monday evening, many in their scrubs, surgical masks, and caps.

Some slipped out of work during a break or at the end of a long shift to gather at Harborview Park, a grassy spot a few feet from the entrance of the hospital.

A large banner that read, ‘In Memory of Alex Pretti’ hung on a wall overlooking downtown Seattle and Elliott Bay.

“‘Terrible’ is the only word that comes to mind right now,” said Margaret Reed, a nurse case manager who used to work in the ICU, "so I wanted to show support and be here for Alex.”

Reed and other mourners placed flowers and small candles by the banner.

Some people brought anti-ICE signs to the vigil but the event was solemn. There were no speeches or chants.

“There's a lot of injustice happening right now and you can't get away from it anymore,” said nurse Kyla Haggith, “it's intolerable and it's too much.”

Haggith said the healthcare community was shocked to learn about Pretti’s death.

She said federal law enforcement’s actions in Minneapolis were unjust and that more people should be speaking out.

“ Being a nurse, we're in such a position of trust that if the public can't see us standing up for them, then who can they trust?” Haggith said.

Pretti, who reportedly worked at a VA hospital, is at least the second person to be killed by federal agents in the past month in Minneapolis.

People in and around Minneapolis have been protesting federal immigration officers in the area for weeks.

The Trump administration has said ICE is in Minnesota to arrest dangerous criminals, and protestors are impeding their work. But Monday afternoon, in what appears to be change in leadership of the operation, reports surfaced that controversial Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino was expected to be leaving Minnesota on Tuesday. And President Trump said he was placing border czar Tom Holman in charge of the mission.

Separate demonstrations are planned this week outside of the federal immigration court in downtown Seattle.

The memorial to Pretti will stay up at Harborview, volunteers said, to give everyone there a chance to pay their respects.

“It's hard to walk away from patient care from your job or to take a break to deal with something that's so emotionally heavy,” Haggith said, “I'm proud of the people that came out and sat in their feelings with us and showed up and stood up in any way that they can.”