About 60 people huddled in the wind and cold Sunday evening outside the Veterans Affairs hospital at Lake Nona for a candlelight vigil.
The hospital employees and others honored Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old VA intensive care nurse fatally shot by Department of Homeland Security agents in Minneapolis on Jan. 24.
Pretti was one of thousands of citizens who opposed the Trump administration's immigration crackdown in that city. But the vigil’s organizers avoided political statements and focused instead on Pretti's character and his life of service to veterans.
Maria Vazquez, a psychologist at the Orlando hospital, was one of the event organizers with the American Federation of Government Employees Local 559. She said staff at the Orlando VA facility were shocked and heartbroken by his death.
Vazquez said Pretti -- who tried to assist a woman who had been knocked down -- lost his life helping someone else.
"And we recognize," Vazquez said before the event, "what a hero he was to his patients, to the veterans he served, to the staff he worked with and now to all of us."
On Sunday evening -- as it grew darker and the temperature fell to 40 degrees -- the group stood in a circle, with small, battery-powered candles casting a glow on somber faces.
There were prayers, hymns and songs. And a few people shared their feelings.
Melissa Walker, a nurse in the Orlando hospital, had helped organize the vigil.
She spoke through tears and praised Pretti as an advocate for others, both on duty and off.
"I understand the oath that we take and the responsibility to always do what is right and to stand up for others," she said. "Through this tragedy I will draw strength from his example, reminding me why I do what I do and why I became a nurse."
Pretti was a member of the AFGE. This vigil was one of at least 22 the union planned around the country on Sunday.
