Minneapolis (AP) – Vice President jd vance I met with my family and the victims on Wednesday. A fatal shooting I heard a heartfelt plea from at least one family for actions at the Catholic Church in Minneapolis.
Vance, who? I converted to Catholicism In 2019, we visited the Announcement Catholic Church a week after the attackers fired During the first mass of the school year For students at nearby Announcement Catholic Schools.
According to Vance’s office, the Vice President and Second Lady Ushavance met personally personally with the victims’ families, the parish pastor and the school’s principal. They are included Parents of two children The murdered people, Fletcher Merkel, 8, and Harper Moisky, 10, and some of the 21 injured.
The couple also visited the church sanctuary where the shooting took place and to pay their respects. Victims and their familiesand placed a bouquet of flowers at the memorial outside. They paused to read chalked messages on the church stairs, such as “God heals a broken heart,” “We Love You,” and “Show us Love.”
“I’ve never been with me like I do today,” Vance told reporters.
Parents plead for action
Vance was also sent to the children’s hospital where several victims were treated and met. Lydia Kaisersomeone recovering from surgery. Her parents urged Vance to use his position to find a real solution to gun violence.
“We don’t agree on so many things,” her father, Harry Kaiser, a gym teacher at the school, told reporters, reading from a letter he wrote to Vance. “…but as a father and a Catholic, I promise to seriously support the study of what is wrong with our culture.
My parents didn’t ask questions. But Mother Lea Kaiser cited proverbs cited by Principal Matthew DeBau and many others since the shooting, “When you pray, when you move your legs.” That’s an expression of that idea Thoughts and prayers are not sufficient.
“Vice President Vance, you have enormous authority,” she continued. “Use this moment to move your feet and transcend political divisions to promote peace, unity and hope. This is what the American people hold you accountable.”
Vance refuses to comment on Minnesota’s gun laws
When Vance arrived at the church, some families and neighbors gathered nearby and held signs calling for a ban on assault weapons. I read it as “Pro-Life = Pro-Gun Safety.” Another mention Comment by Pope Leo On Sunday, he said, “Listen to the Pope and end the arm pandemic.”
“It’s happening over and over again, and nothing changes,” Kacie Sharpe said. Her 8-year-old son, Trip, saw Fletcher as his best friend and sat nearby when he was shot and killed. “And knowing you can’t send your kids to school and you can’t make them safe is the most helpless feeling in the world.”
Vance later refused to weight any way he could respond to the tragedy by Minnesota Sen. Tim Waltz, a Democratic government official. The Governor’s Stated Intent Calls for a special session of Congress to address gun and school safety.
“I just say I take these parents’ concerns seriously,” Vance told reporters. “I think all of us Democrats, Republicans, independents, are hoping that shootings at these schools aren’t too frequent.
The church meeting lasted about an hour and 45 minutes. As Vance leaves, his convoy rolls past dozens of protesters, with some indications saying, “Hatement doesn’t make America great.”
Young victims undergo surgery
Vance also spoke on the phone with 10-year-old Weston Halsne, one of the injured children. He had surgery on the child to remove a bullet fragment from his neck on Wednesday and was not available for in-person visits, the hospital said.
“The procedure goes well and Weston is expected to have a full physical recovery,” the boy’s family said in a statement.
Weston, a fifth grader, didn’t realize he was a hit at the time. he He told reporters after the shot exploded through the window. He covered his head and crept in for his legs.
“My friend Victor saved me because he was lying on top of me. But he was hit,” he said.
The school is not said to have been able to resume when classes will resume, and ceremony was held, essentially to reunite the church, and worship services could resume there. The church celebrated the public at the school gym last weekend.
Fletcher Merkel’s funeral is set for Sunday at Mount Olivet Lutheran in Minneapolis, his family said in a statement Wednesday. The Harper Moyski arrangement has not been announced.
