Remembering Alex Pretti

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) is heartbroken and alarmed that a member of the nursing community, Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse from the Minneapolis VA Health Care System, was shot and killed on January 24, 2026. Our sympathies are with Mr. Pretti’s family, friends, co-workers, and students who remember him as compassionate, ethical, and committed to helping others — values we hold dear as nurses.

As we reflect on who we are as a profession and a nation, we remember all nurses that have been victims of violence and uphold our core values of caring and advocacy that have defined nursing. Let us act together using our voices to advance policies and practices that preserve human dignity and promote health and safety for all.

AACN will continue our commitment to bringing nurse faculty and leaders together to support the collective well-being of our colleagues and communities, to safeguard nursing students and faculty, and to rally behind advocacy efforts grounded in health, justice, and compassion.