A neighbor who lived below Alex Pretti has described the late 37-year-old as a “wonderful person” with a “great heart”, amid conflicting opinions being shared online.

Pretti was shot dead by ICE agents on Saturday, January 24, seemingly after he had been restrained and was no longer a threat to them. His death, less than one month after the fatal shooting of Renee Good, has ramped up tensions in Minnesota, with figures on both sides of the political divide debating its legality.

Now, as in the aftermath of Good’s fatal shooting, the narrative from the Department of Homeland Security and the Trump administration is that Pretti was going out of his way to cause harm to ICE agents in the process of doing their jobs.

The DHS said that the 37-year-old approached officers with a firearm, though it’s since been claimed that not only did he have a permit to carry it, but he was disarmed and restrained before the agents in question shot him multiple times.

Pretti, a U.S. citizen, was born in Illinois and had no criminal record.

“He 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,” said Michael Pretti, Alex’s father.

“He thought it was terrible, you know, kidnapping children, just grabbing people off the street. He cared about those people, and he knew it was wrong, so he did participate in protests.”

After seeing videos of Trump administration officials suggesting Pretti had attacked officers before he was shot dead, his family issued a written statement revealing their outrage.

“The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting,” reads the family’s statement. They pointed out that videos showed Alex Pretti was not holding a gun when he was tackled by federal agents. Rather, he was holding his phone with one hand and shielding a woman who was being pepper-sprayed with the other.

“Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man,” they said.

As per reports, Pretti lived around 2 miles from where he was shot. Sue Gitar lived below the ICU nurse, and told how he had moved into the building about three years ago. “He’s a wonderful person,” she said. “He has a great heart.”

She added that he could always be relied upon to help if there was something suspicious going on in the neighborhood or if someone needed assistance.

It’s claimed that his neighbors knew he owned guns, but were surprised by the notion he might take a pistol out with him on the streets.

“I never thought of him as a person who carried a gun,” said Gitar.

What do you make of the shooting of Alex Pretti? Let us know in the comments.