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Lydia Kaiser, an eighth grader at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis who was wounded during a mass shooting during school Mass last August, spoke out Tuesday at the Minnesota Capitol for the first time since the attack and pushed lawmakers to act on gun violence prevention.
“Two students were shot and killed. Two students survived gunshot injuries to the head. I’m one of them,” Kaiser said of the Aug. 27 shooting. “Many more students were injured by bullets and flying glass. We all hid under the pews.”
Ten-year-old Harper Moyski and 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel were killed that day. At the Capitol, there are two empty desks inside the building to honor their lives.
Kaiser shared the extent of her injuries — that doctors had to remove half of her skull to remove bullet fragments from her brain over multiple surgeries.
“All children have the right to live free from gun violence in schools, churches and in our communities. Elected officials have a duty to protect us from guns. No one should have to go through what we went through at Annunciation,” she said.
Her comments came at a Tuesday morning news conference alongside Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who announced his gun violence prevention package that includes an assault weapons ban, school safety grants, restricting untraceable “ghost guns” and much more.
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“We owe it to the Annunciation families not to have that just be another statistic in the book,” Walz said. “In Minnesota, that was the final straw.”
Walz vowed to push for legislation on guns despite the uphill battle in the divided Minnesota Legislature where Republicans and Democrats share power in a tied House. The future of such bills is also uncertain in the Senate with a one-seat DFL majority; a few Democrats, in addition to Republicans, have in the past expressed concern about some of the measures and their impact on law-abiding gun owners.
On Tuesday afternoon, House Democrats will introduce some of their bills to the judiciary committee, including the assault weapons ban and restrictions on high-capacity magazines. Moyski’s parents are expected to testify.
“What we’re talking about is are we going to be with the people, or are we going to be with the gun lobbyists and the gun industry? And I think we here know who we’re with, and Minnesotans know who they’re with, and I certainly hope my colleagues do, too,” said Rep. Emma Greenman, DFL-Minneapolis, who is authoring the semi-automatic, assault-style weapons ban.
Two months before the Annunciation shooting, Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were shot and killed in their home in a targeted attack that also wounded Sen John Hoffman and his wife Yvette that night.
Also in that Tuesday afternoon hearing, lawmakers will discuss strengthening penalties for individuals who impersonate a police officer, which is what authorities say accused assassin Vance Boelter did when he showed up at the Hortman and Hoffman homes in the middle of the night on June 14, 2025.
This story will be updated.
Lydia Kaiser’s full statement
My name is Lydia Kaiser. I’m in eighth grade at Annunciation Catholic School.
On Aug. 27, I was in church attending the first school mass of the year when a gunman fired 116 rounds of bullets through the stained glass windows.
Two students were shot and killed. Two students survived gunshot injuries to the head. I’m one of them.
Many more students were injured by bullets and flying glass. We all hid under the pews. The older students covered the younger students to protect them.
I was taken to the hospital and rushed into surgery. The doctor moved a large piece, almost half of my skull, to let my brain swell and to remove bone and bullet fragments from my head.
I had a second surgery three weeks later to put the piece of my skull back in my head.
All children have the right to live free from gun violence in schools, churches and in our communities.
Elected officials have a duty to protect us from guns.
No one should have to go through what we went through at Annunciation.
Thank you.
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Caroline Cummings
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