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Vice President JD Vance Visits Minneapolis to Honor Annunciation School Sh**ting Victims

Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance make a very important visit to Minneapolis today in order to honor the victims of the tragic shooting at Annunciation Catholic School.

They laid flowers at the church in remembrance of the children whose lives were taken by the deranged shooter.

Take a look:

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After paying tribute to the victims, VP Vance and his wife met with their families.

Leah and Harry Kaiser, whose daughter Lydia is still recovering in the hospital after being wounded in the shooting, shared their statements to JD Vance.

Here’s what they had to say, per Fox9:

“Hello. My name is Leah Kaiser, and I am Lydia Kaiser’s mother. I’ve given a lot of thought about speaking publicly, and I’ve decided I have something to say. I want to say to Jackie. And Jessie and Molly, my heart hurts for you and for your pain of losing your beautiful children, Harper and Fletcher. Harry and I and so many others are with you in your grief. I want to thank Father Zarin, Principal DeBoer, and the teachers for protecting our little ones and the amazing first responders and hospital staff for bringing us all to safety and treating our injuries. All of us, moms, teachers, you reporters, and vice presidents, we all have an obligation to use this moment as principle. Deborah said, when he quoted an African proverb, 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. 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. On the sidewalk in front of the church, in front the boarded up windows, someone wrote the prayer of St. Francis, which says, make me an instrument of your peace, where there is hatred. Let me bring love. Where there is injury, pardoned, where there is despair. Where there is darkness, light, and where there is sadness, only joy. That is it. That’s everything. That’s all I want to say.”

Harry Kaiser shared this statement:

“Everybody’s telling me that we still need to be praying for one of my seventh grade students, Sophia, so the family is asking for us to storm heaven with prayers. My name is Harry Kaiser. I’m the gym teacher at Annunciation and the father of Lydia, who’s still upstairs. I teach all the students at Annunciation and the Vice President asked to come and talk to us today. Before he left, I asked him if he would let me read a note. So I would like to read that. ‘Mr. Vice President, thank you for coming to see Lydia. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity for my kids to meet a vice president. And for the sake of Harper Moiske, and Fletcher Merkle, and Lydia, and Sophia, and all my students, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity of having your ear for a moment. We disagree about so many things. We both know both sides, and all the talking points we fall back on. But on just this one issue of gun violence, will you please promise me as a father and a Catholic, that you will earnestly support the study of what is wrong with our culture, that we are the country that has the worst mass shooter problem? We were at mass. Singing about being called to act with justice, love, service, and humility. Will you please promise to pursue, despite powerful lobbies, some common sense, bipartisan legislation as a starting point, so we can come out of our corners and find the values that we share so that this time, some progress is made. Thoughts and prayers haven’t been enough. Many policies have been dismissed without even being studied or tried. It’s so complicated. I don’t claim to have the answers, but we have to commit to looking. Then we can feel good about defending life. If one thing changes for the better, perhaps Fletcher’s and Harper’s deaths and all the injuries and destruction. Might bring about even more unity, love, and light than I have already seen this past week. One law, one executive order, one policy. You can call it the Annunciation Bill. Then I’ll be able to look Lydia and Sophia and all my students in the eye and say I tried. Sincerely, Harry Kaiser.’ I just wanted to make my family proud and my church proud and the Fletcher’s family and Harper’s family proud of what I said and everybody at Annunciation, thank you.”

VP Vance was deeply moved by his meetings with the parents of the school shooting victims.

He spoke to reporters afterward, saying he has “never had a day that will stay with me like this day did.”

Watch here:

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JD VANCE after meeting with families of the Annunciation Catholic School shooting: “I have NEVER had a day that will stay with me like this day did.”

“These parents — in the midst of the worst grief of their entire lives — they opened up their lives. They opened up their hearts.”

Keep praying for these families.

Along with Lydia Kaiser’s parents, he also met with the parents of two children who were killed in the horrific attack.

CBS News has more:

“There’s a strong desire from across the political spectrum to do something so these shootings are less common,” the Vice President told reporters.
Before meeting with the Kaiser family, the Vice President and Second Lady, who are both catholic, laid flowers at the Annunciation Church memorial. Officials say the couple also visited its sanctuary where the shooting occurred and were met with protesters nearby. The visit continued with a private meeting with the parents of Fletcher Merkel and Harper Moyski, who died in the attack.”These parents opened up their lives, opened up their hearts. They told me about their kids. They told me about their families, they told me about the community supporting them,” said Vance.As a father to three, he explained how he’ll honor the families.

“By being a better dad.. and hugging my kids tight tonight and making sure they know their dad loves them. Because there are two families that aren’t going to get that opportunity ever again,” Vance added.

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JD Vance also visited 10-year-old victim Weston Halsne, who is recovering from surgery.

Weston Halsne is the boy who went viral last week when he spoke to reporters after the shooting, detailing how his friend protected him.

For reference, here’s that clip:

What a brave little boy.

It’s tragic what happened to these poor children last week.

One child, Sophia Forchas, is still fighting for her life in the hospital where she has been in critical condition since the day of the shooting.

Following the visit, VP JD Vance called for prayers and shared his takeaways from his emotional meetings with the parents:

I just left Minneapolis, where I was honored to meet with a number of grieving famlies and hear about their beautiful children–in particular Harper (10) and Fletcher (8), who died in the Annunciation school shooting. I also met another beautiful girl who is recovering well, thank God. We discussed a lot, but all the families had a couple of immediate requests:

First, to pray for Sophia, who continues to fight for her life every day. Pray for her health, pray for her swelling to be controlled, and pray for strength for her parents, doctors, and nurses.

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Second, don’t give the shooter the attention, but focus on the kids who were taken from us. I learned that Harper had a smile that could light up the room, that she loved visiting the national parks with her parents, and that she looked beautiful in her first communion gown. I learned that Fletcher was rambunctious and energetic, that he loved football and basketball, and that he had an amazing head of hair.

Yes, they were taken from their families far too soon. But in their short lives they made a big mark on the many people who loved them. Let’s give them the attention they deserve.

As VP Vance said, please continue to pray for Sophia, as well as all of the victims and their families in the aftermath of this tragedy.


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