Cincinnatians gathered at Levine Park in freezing tempratures Wednesday night for a vigil remembering Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse shot and killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Minneapolis Saturday.
The vigil was organized primarily by local labor unions, including those representing nurses.
Mary is a nurse with National Nurses United and asked that WVXU not publish her last name out of fear of retaliation from her employer. She says Pretti's death is a tragedy that never should have happened.
"I've worked alongside many nurses and physicians who are immigrants to this nation that are doing their all to provide excellent patient care," Mary said. "And not to say anything against any specific ICE members, but we're all federal employees — at the end of the day, we are all expected to keep our neighbors, our friends, our community safe. And shooting people down in the streets is not how you do that."
Organizers cleared away enough snow to set up tables with hand warmers, food, hot chocolate, and information about political organizing and mutual aid resources. Several participants criticized the large federal budget for ICE operations, saying that money should fund healthcare instead.
Alex Bigby says the vigil was inspiring and gave her hope.
"It's hard to watch these things in your own home, because you feel alone and like, maybe we're outnumbered," Bigby said. "But when you come together as a community, it's like, no, the majority of us are good hearted people, and we want to do what's right, and we want to see this country turn this around for the better."
A physician with the Cincinnati VA spoke to WVXU on condition of anonymity, fearing retribution. She says she works with nurses every day who run toward danger to help.
"When I saw what happened to Alex Pretti on the news, it broke my heart," she said. "I knew that so many people were in pain, and the antidote is coming together in this way. I feel healed, and I also feel motivated to do more, and I'm so excited to see all of these people coming together."
Locals previously gathered for demonstrations in Cincinnati and northern Kentucky after an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good in Minneapolis earlier this month.
Read more:
- UC students demand the university declare itself a sanctuary campus
- Local high school students join nationwide walkout opposing ICE, Trump
- Council denounces Minneapolis ICE killing, urges federal officers to follow local policies
- LISTEN: Knowing your rights and staying safe during protests
- NPR: Videos and eyewitnesses refute federal account of Minneapolis shooting
