Minneapolis Families Press Vance for Change

Vice President JD Vance met Wednesday with families and victims of the church shooting in Minneapolis, a trip that included seeing the sanctuary where children were attending Mass when a gunman opened fire on them. He later told reporters the visit affected him. "I have never had a day that will stay with me like this day did," the vice president told reporters. Vance was met with demonstrators demanding changes to gun laws, and the father of a girl recovering from surgery tried to extract a promise that he would act to stop gun violence.

• At Annunciation: Vance and his wife, Usah, who are both Catholic, placed flowers at the memorial to the shooting victims, CBS News reports. Vance then met privately with the families, included the parents of Fletcher Merkel and Harper Moyski, the two children who were killed on Aug. 27. Another 18 children were injured in the attack. The Rev. Dennis Zehren of Annunciation Church and Matt DeBoer, principal of Annunciation School, also attended.
• Demonstrators: Signs outside the church called for banning assault weapons, per KMSP. "We do not need these weapons to protect ourselves. We do not need these weapons to hunt," said Kacie Sharpe, whose son was sitting near Fletcher when he was shot. She added: "Something has to be done. My son lost his best friend in the world because these politicians won't do anything." Fletcher was a great child, she said. Another man who wants an assault weapons ban but is discouraged about its prospects told the Minnesota Star Tribune that the shooting "caused me to shut down" and to look for ways he could channel his anger. "It's not something that we're prepared to do anything about, although it's been going on forever," said David Evans, who grew up at Annunciation.

• At a hospital: Vance next went to Children's Hospital in Minneapolis, a few miles from Annunciation. There, he met Lydia Kaiser, who is recovering from surgery. Her parents pressed Vance to use his position to find solutions to gun violence, per the AP. Lydia's father, Harry Kaiser, read to reporters from a letter he wrote Vance asking him "as a father and a Catholic"—to support a study to find what's wrong with the culture to make the US "the country that has the worst mass shooter problem." The girl's mother, Leah Kaiser said: "Vice President Vance, you have enormous authority. Please use this moment to move your feet and transcend our political divides to promote peace and unity and hope."
• Vance's response: Speaking to reporters afterward, Vance declined to say what Minnesota lawmakers or Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, who said he wants to call a special session of the legislature on the issues of gun and school safety, should do. "I would just say, take the concerns of these parents seriously," Vance said. "I think all of us, Democrat, Republican and independent, want these school shootings to happen less frequently. Hopefully there's some steps that we can take to make that happen."