Vice President JD Vance visited Minneapolis on Wednesday to meet with families and victims of a shooting at a Catholic church that killed two schoolchildren and injured 21 people.
Security was heavy outside Annunciation Catholic Church ahead of the visit by Vance, who is Catholic, and second lady Usha Vance. The visit comes one week after an attacker opened fire during the first Mass of the school year for students of the nearby Annunciation Catholic School.
“They will hold a series of private meetings to convey condolences to the families of those affected by the tragedy,” the White House said in a statement.
The White House released few other details ahead of the visit.
A contingent of protestors greeted them with boos and even insults protesting his presence, with many holding signs saying he is not welcome, and questioning his sincerity about being there.
Brittany Gould lives nearby, and was holding a sign that reads "Vance go home."
"I want him here if he's going to enact real change on gun control policy, and I don't believe that is where he's coming from," Gould told WCCO's Ari Bergeron. "So that is why I have that message. I also have a 2-year old, so you know, you start thinking about school coming up and it's scary. I don't want to have to send my kid to school where I'm afraid that they're going to not come home."
Other protestors commented that they're fine with Vice President Vance being there as long as he's going to enact real change on gun control policy.
But others were flat-out angry he was there.
"Thoughts and prayers do nothing," one onlooker told WCCO. "My dad was a pastor for 20 years as I was growing up, so I know what the rules are, the road of religion, and what you're supposed to do, what you're not supposed to do. Being a hypocritical a-hole is not part of that faith, and he's full of garbage trying to represent that."
The shooter, 23-year-old Robin Westman, died by suicide after firing 116 rifle rounds through the church’s stained-glass windows last Wednesday while hundreds of students and others gathered for worship.
While investigators say they have not found a clear motive for the attack, the shooter had connections to the school. Westman’s mother worked for the parish before retiring in 2021, and Westman once attended the school.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson said last week that the shooter left behind videos and writings that “expressed hate towards almost every group imaginable” but admiration for mass killers.
The school has not yet announced when classes will resume or when a ceremony will be held to essentially reconsecrate the church so that worship can resume there. The church celebrated its Masses last weekend in the school gym.