A Note From the Editors on Alex Pretti’s Passing

Recently, the profession of nursing has been under attack. Now, a nurse was shot dead in the street after pausing to help another human being. Nurses have gone from heroes of the pandemic, to having advanced nursing degrees stripped from funding for “professional” tracks under federal student loan programs, to being killed in the streets of Minneapolis. The news of Alex Jeffrey Pretti’s killing has left a wound deep in the hearts of the nursing and health care communities. Compassion is a requirement of nursing. It is not learned in a classroom; it is a calling. Nurses give of themselves daily, absorbing the pain, fear and exhaustion of others while asking for little in return. To lose one of our own—not to illness or accident, but to violence—feels like a betrayal of everything we stand for.

Pretti was not just a nurse. He was the quiet symbol of hope in chaotic hospital corridors, the calm in moments of crisis, and the voice that reassured frightened patients they were not alone. Jessica Hauser, who says she was Pretti’s last nursing student, wrote a tribute to him in a Facebook post describing him as someone who “carried patience, compassion and calm as a steady light within him.”

She noted that she became a better nurse under his mentorship, thanks to the “wisdom and skills he instilled in [her].” His hands healed; his words comforted. To imagine that such a compassionate heart could be silenced by senseless brutality is almost too heavy to bear.

The tragedy of Pretti’s death reminds us that the people who dedicate their lives to caring also need care, protection and respect. Nurses face exhaustion, trauma, and emotional strain every day, yet they keep showing up—not just in the clinic, but in their communities—guided by love and duty. Our safety, both at work and beyond, should never be an afterthought.

In grieving Pretti, we are called to do more than mourn. We are called to show compassion through action: to build communities where kindness is valued, where nurses and all health care workers can serve without fear, where life is held sacred.

Nurses honor Pretti’s memory not just with tears, but with purpose. Let his legacy inspire us to protect the healers among us, to confront violence with humanity, and to carry forward his spirit of care. Though he is gone, the light he brought to the world still burns in each of us who choose healing, one patient at a time, every day.

Rest well, Alex Jeffrey Pretti. Your spirit endures in every heart that chooses compassion.