Family and friends of Alex Pretti remember him

MINNEAPOLIS (CNN, KYMA) - Family and friends are remembering 37-year-old Alex Pretti after he was shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis Saturday.

Pretti is remembered as a healer, caring for the sickest as an ICU nurse at the VA, according to Heather Zielinski, his friend of two decades.

"There's going to be times when I pick up the phone and I'm not going to be able to get ahold of him," Zielinski expressed.

Zielinski is heartbroken, but she says helping people was who he was saying, "He was standing up for someone help up and out of that situation."

In a statement, his father told The Associated Press saying, "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."

His parents told The Associated Press that he was born in Illinois and raised in Wisconsin. They say Pretti owned a handgun and had a permit to carry.

Outside the hospital, he was an avid outdoorsman, biking and hiking, finding peace in nature.

"He leaned into the things that he was passionate about. And that's one of the things that made him very successful," Zielinski shared.

In a statement, another neighbor said Pretti had a dog who passed in the past year or so.

She said, "I remember how sweet it was that as his dog was more elderly / less mobile, he'd be willing to carry him down to the yard to get some fresh air and to enjoy the outdoors. His dog would lay down and alex would sit with him and pet him for long periods of time. He was very caring."

Pretti lived to help others.

"Could they have not killed my friend," Zielinski remarked.