Annunciation shooting victim discharged from hospital

A girl who suffered a brain injury while protecting a younger student during the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church has been discharged from hospital care.

A spokesperson for Children’s Minnesota confirmed Saturday that Lydia Kaiser, 12, had left the Minneapolis hospital. She is the last of seven children to leave Children’s after being treated at the pediatric hospital for gunshot wounds suffered in the Aug. 27 attack.

Lydia needed two surgeries, one to remove a bullet fragment and another to alleviate swelling and pressure on her brain.

Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance visited with Lydia at the hospital during their visit Wednesday to the Twin Cities. Lydia’s father, Harry Kaiser, issued a statement after the visit, imploring the vice president to search for solutions that reduce gun violence.

“I don’t claim to have the answers,” said the father, who is a gym teacher at Annunciation, “but we have to commit to looking.”

Lydia’s discharge from the hospital isn’t the end of her medical journey, according to an update Saturday on the GoFundMe page established to support her family. Another surgery will be needed soon to replace a section of her skull that was removed to address swelling.