Health Care Workers Plan Medford Vigil for Nurse Killed in Minnesota Encounter

MEDFORD, Ore. (Jan. 30, 2026) — Medford residents and community members are invited to gather Saturday at Veterans Park for a vigil honoring Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital who was shot and killed by federal Border Patrol agents during an immigration enforcement operation last week, organizers said.

The vigil is scheduled for 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday at Medford Veterans Park, 1601 S. Pacific Highway. Organizers said nurses, doctors and other health care workers from local hospitals and clinics, along with elected leaders and community advocates, are expected to attend.

Pretti was killed Jan. 24 while protesting enforcement activity in Minnesota. He was attempting to help a woman authorities had allegedly pushed to the ground, according to organizers. Authorities said multiple investigations — local, state and federal — are underway to examine the encounter.

Federal authorities have said Pretti had previously been captured on camera damaging a federal vehicle and allegedly spitting on a federal officer. Video footage from the deadly encounter also shows a physical confrontation between Pretti and federal agents before the shooting, according to officials.

“A nurse’s job is to care for their patients—but they are also ethically bound to speak out in the face of injustice and human rights violations,” the Oregon Nurses Association said in a statement. “Provision 8.2 of the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses is clear: ‘Where there are human rights violations, nurses ought to and must stand up for those rights and demand accountability.’ That is exactly what Alex was doing.”

The organization added, “Federal enforcement tactics that endanger lives and traumatize communities have no place in a just society,” and called for “accountability, and an independent investigation.”

Supporters of immigration enforcement policies say federal officers carry out difficult and often dangerous duties and must make split-second decisions in volatile situations. They argue that use-of-force incidents are subject to internal and external reviews and that enforcement actions are necessary to uphold federal law and border security.

The Oregon Nurses Association, which represents more than 24,000 nurses and health care professionals statewide, said the vigil is intended to honor Pretti’s legacy and express solidarity with health care workers and affected communities.