Dozens of people holding small lit candles wound around the block in front of St. Patrick Hospital in downtown Missoula on Jan. 30. The Montana Nurses Association organized the vigil to honor Pretti, who worked as an ICU nurse prior to his death on January 24.
Beth Angermeier, a nurse at St. Patrick Hospital, says she was horrified by the actions of ICE.
"I think it's really important that we show up, and I think a lot of people feel like that's very risky, and I think that's a risk that's worth taking," Angermeier says.
Missoula resident Melanie Blank says she was impacted by Pretti’s death, as her mother worked as an E.R. nurse.
"I grew up around people who care about others more than they do themselves, sometimes," Blank says. "It means a lot."
Customs and Border Protection officers said in a preliminary assessment that Pretti resisted arrest before two officers shot him.
Pretti’s vigil followed one held earlier this month for Renée Good, another Minnesota resident killed by ICE.
Both deaths have sparked debate over whether the actions of the federal agency were justified.
Lifelong Montana resident Martin Burke, alongside others at the vigil, feels the actions have been undemocratic.
"I think that this nation is facing a threat that, frankly, we have not faced before," he says.
