Vance meets with Annunciation families in Minneapolis amid ‘worst grief of their entire lives’

This article is our live coverage from Sept. 3.

Vice President JD Vance visited Minneapolis on Wednesday to pay respects to victims of last week’s shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School. He held a series of private meetings, “to convey condolences to the families of those affected by the tragedy,” according to a brief statement from the White House.

After visiting Annunciation, Vance visited Children’s Minnesota hospital in Minneapolis.

Vance visited with his wife, Usha. It was Vance’s first official visit to Minnesota since winning the election with President Donald Trump last fall.

The shooting killed two children and injured 21 other people attending a back-to-school Mass. Vance’s visit comes as Democrats are pushing to return to the State Capitol later this month for a short special session to vote on a possible assault weapons ban.

5:11 p.m. - Leah and Harry Kaiser, parents of injured student Lydia Kaiser, spoke at a news conference after Vance visited their daughter, who is recovering from surgery at the hospital.

They urged people to continue to pray for the shooting victims and their families, and they thanked the vice president for visiting.

“I couldn’t pass up the opportunity for my kids to meet a vice president,” he said, noting that he disagrees with the vice president on many things, but hoped Vance could help pursue bipartisan legislation to help prevent future mass shootings. “Thoughts and prayers haven’t been enough.”

Leah Kaiser referenced an African proverb that Annunciation Principal Matt DeBoer had quoted in the days after the shooting: When you pray, move your feet.

“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,” she said. “This is what the people of the United States will hold you accountable to. This Annunciation community is a force of good in the world and we invite you to be the same.”

Read more about Vance’s visit to Minneapolis.

— Kyeland Jackson

He said the parents he met with opened up their hearts to him amid “the worst grief of their entire lives.”

After visiting Lydia Kaiser, Vance said “she’s still in a fight for her life” and asked for prayers for her recovery and for the families of other victims.

“One of the ways that I’m going to try to honor these parents and the children that they lost is by being a better dad and hugging my kids tight tonight and making sure that they know that their dad loves them, because there are two families who are not going to get that opportunity ever again,” he said.

When told that the governor could call a special legislative session to consider new gun laws, Vance said he did not want to tell lawmakers how to respond to the shooting.

“I think all of us, Democrat, Republican and independent, want these school shootings to happen less frequently,” he said. “Hopefully there’s some steps that we can take to make that happen.”

— Ryan Faircloth

3:36 p.m. - Vance answered questions from reporters at the airport after visiting Children’s Minnesota and boarded Air Force 2 shortly after 3 p.m.

— Briana Bierschbach

3:34 p.m. - During his visit to Children’s Minnesota, Vance met with Lydia Kaiser, 12, who was seriously injured while protecting a friend during the shooting, along with her family, the hospital said in a statement. He also spoke by phone with Weston Halsne, 10, recovering from surgery.

— Sofia Barnett

“They need to get [guns] under control. Every year we’re seeing more and more shootings, and this can be prevented,” Omar said. “We need action, not just visitation.”

— Kyeland Jackson

2:52 p.m. - Funeral services are scheduled this weekend for Fletcher Merkel, the 8-year-old boy who was one of two students killed in the Annunciation shooting.

Mount Olivet Lutheran Church, 5025 Knox Av. S. in Minneapolis, will host the proceedings starting with visitation at 2 p.m. Sunday, followed by services at 4 p.m., according to the obituary published in Wednesday’s Minnesota Star Tribune. The church will also stream the services.

Read more about the services here.

2:31 p.m. - Vance held a private meeting with family members of victims and church leaders at Annunciation, according to pool reports. The meeting included the parents of Fletcher Merkel and Harper Moyski, the two children killed in the shooting, as well as Father Dennis Zehren of Annunciation Church and Matt DeBoer, the principal of Annunciation School.

Vance and the second lady also visited the site of the shooting, according to the vice president’s office and pool reports.

A spokesperson told a White House pool reporter that the Vances are at Children’s Minnesota visiting Lydia Kaiser, who is recovering from surgery.

—Briana Bierschbach

2:20 p.m. - Vance’s motorcade just arrived at Children’s Minnesota hospital in Minneapolis, where at least one victim in the shooting is recovering from injuries.

2 p.m. - A 10-year-old victim of the Annunciation shooting is expected to make a full recovery after having a bullet fragment removed from his neck on Wednesday.

“Today, our 10-year-old son Weston Halsne had surgery to remove the bullet fragment found in his neck after the tragic shooting at Annunciation Church and School,” the boy’s family said in a statement released by Children’s Minnesota hospital. “The procedure went well, and Weston is expected to make a full physical recovery. Our family would like to thank the community for all the prayers and outpouring of support. We will not be releasing any further information and request privacy as we try to begin to heal.”

— Eleanor Hildebrandt

1:53 p.m. - Around 1:45 p.m., a large motorcade left the area around the church, and officers began taking down fencing.

— Elliot Hughes

“It’s not something that we’re prepared to do anything about, although it’s been going on forever,” Evans said. “We need to stop assault weapons. There’s no reason to have assault weapons in our city. There’s no reason at all.”

— Kyeland Jackson

1:40 p.m. - Republican U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber, who represents northern Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District, said Wednesday he was grateful for the Vances’ visit.

“We appreciate their prayers and compassion for this community,” Stauber posted on social media.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer also thanked them for visiting Minnesota “to honor the lives lost at Annunciation last week.”

1:30 p.m. - Law enforcement have closed roads in front of the church. At the corner of Grand Avenue S. and W. Diamond Lake Road, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara stood on one side of police tape, chatting with eight other officers. On the other side stood about 70 onlookers, with a few holding protest signs.

— Elliot Hughes

1:20 p.m. - Dozens of people protested near Annunciation Catholic Church on Wednesday as Vance visited. Blue and green ribbons showing support for the church were tied to stop signs, lampposts and trees. Protesters hoisted signs that said, “Hate won’t make America Great,” and nearby yard signs said, “Our heart is with Annunciation” and “Love our kids more than your guns.”

— Kyeland Jackson

1:10 p.m. - Someone chanted “enough is enough” over a megaphone and protesters held signs that said “listen to the pope, end the pandemic of arms,” and “kids lives over guns,” according to pool reports.

— Briana Bierschbach

1 p.m. - During last year’s vice presidential debate between Vance and Walz that often turned testy, there was a human moment between the two candidates. Walz mentioned that his son, Gus, witnessed a shooting at a St. Paul community center in 2023.

“Those things don’t leave you,” Walz said.

“I didn’t know that your 17-year-old witnessed a shooting and I’m sorry,” Vance replied. “Christ have mercy.”

— Nathaniel Minor

Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, and state Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, had no meetings scheduled with Vance as of late Wednesday morning, according to their spokespeople.

Archbishop Bernard Hebda of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis was not invited to meet with Vance, either, MPR News reported Wednesday.

— Ryan Faircloth and Nathaniel Minor

12:30 p.m. - Minnesota DFL Chair Richard Carlbom criticized Vance for opposing firearms restrictions in a statement Wednesday, saying Vance’s appearance in Minneapolis is political theater and “a waste of taxpayer dollars.”

“If JD Vance truly wanted to support Minnesotans affected by gun violence, he would work to pass the commonsense gun safety legislation he spent his entire career opposing,” Carlbom said. “We are past the point of showing up with hollow words and empty hands.”

12:20 p.m. - Air Force Two touched down at Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport just after 11:30 a.m., according to pool reports. Vance and his wife, Usha, were greeted on the tarmac by Col. Samuel Kraemer, commander of the 934th Airlift Wing, and Chief Master Sgt. Jennifer Murphy, also of the 934th, according to the vice president’s office.

— Briana Bierschbach

12:05 p.m. - Vice President JD Vance was raised as an evangelical Christian and once called himself an atheist, but converted to Catholicism in 2019. “He was drawn not just to the church’s theological ideas, but also to its teachings on family and social order and its desire to instill virtue in modern society,” the New York Times reported in a piece on Vance’s conversion last year. In the wake of last week’s shooting, Vance has also defended the role of prayer and recited one in honor of the victims while speaking in Wisconsin last week.

He’s also been a supporter of gun rights, while some prominent Catholic leaders, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, have called for gun control measures including an assault weapons ban.

— Nathaniel Minor

The daughter of Indian immigrants, she was long registered as a Democrat before shifting rightward in recent years. While she has largely avoided the spotlight and has not spoken publicly about guns or school shootings, she has become a visible partner in his role as vice president.

— Sofia Barnett

11:57 a.m. - Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to speak at Annunciation Church this afternoon. Patrick DuSchane, whose 3-year-old son was inside during the shooting and whose pregnant wife, Laura, sprinted to the church to find him, said the visit feels hollow.

“JD Vance has previously said school shootings are a fact of life, and he’s strongly endorsed by the NRA,” DuSchane said. “He’s shown us that he’s uninterested in policies that would have prevented this tragedy, and his visit feels performative at best. Frankly, he exemplifies thoughts and prayers without action, and I hope he proves me wrong.”

— Sofia Barnett

Walz and Vance, however, spoke after the assassination of House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman in June. Vance also mentioned the shooting and the country’s “mental health crisis” while speaking in La Crosse, Wis., last week. He also recited the Catholic Eternal Rest Prayer in honor of the victims.

— Nathaniel Minor