Updated August 28, 2025 at 2:24 PM EDT
Two children, ages 8 and 10, were killed in a mass shooting on Wednesday morning while gathered for Mass at a Minneapolis Catholic school to mark the first week of classes. Seventeen others were wounded, including 14 children between the ages of 6 and 15.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara identified 23-year-old Robin Westman as the shooter. Westman was later found dead in the back of the church from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities are still investigating her motive.
The shooting is renewing debates over America's gun laws. And two of Minnesota's prominent leaders, both Democrats, are seizing the moment to push for change. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison are proposing different approaches.
In a conversation with NPR's Michel Martin, Frey advocated for mayors to take on the responsibility of reducing gun violence within their own cities.
"Look, if the federal government or the state government is not going to take the necessary steps to protect my constituents, let me do it," Frey said. "Give cities around the country the ability to take action to keep their constituents safe."
Ellison, speaking in a separate interview with NPR's Leila Fadel, said officials and lawmakers on every level should be held accountable for reducing gun violence. But he specifically honed in on federal gun reform, recalling the decade-long Federal Assault Weapons Ban passed in 1994.
"An assault weapon ban may well have stopped her from using that weapon," Ellison said. "There are a number of things we could have done."
The following interviews have been edited for length and clarity.
Frey says mayors should be able to "act" and reduce gun violence in their cities
Michel Martin: The spring and summer were already pretty traumatic times for the Twin Cities. I mean, there was the fifth anniversary of George Floyd's death. That's when you and I last talked. Two state lawmakers and their spouses were shot earlier this summer. As near as you can tell, how are people doing?
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey: Our community is so resilient. Obviously, right now we are united in grief. And importantly, we are also united in action. This was an unspeakable tragedy. But how many times have you heard politicians say exactly that and then nothing happens? Prayers are welcome. Thoughts certainly welcome. But that's not enough. These kids were literally praying in church. And it is on us right now, not just to sit back. It's on all of us to take the necessary actions so that this kind of thing doesn't happen again. And by the way, there are certainly other countries around the world where a horrific act takes place and then they make the change to ensure that out of love for their kids, out of love for their children, it doesn't happen again.
Martin: Have any of the leaders who've been through something like this before reached out to you? Have they had any advice for you about what would be the best way to move forward?
Frey: Of course, mayors from around the country have reached out to us, and I'm deeply appreciative of their words and their guidance. And at the same time, I think they're frustrated themselves that they had to go through this and then watch somebody else go through the same thing without the kind of significant change that we need. Let's be real. We got more guns than people in America. You can buy a gun virtually every single month. We're not talking about getting rid of your father's hunting rifle, but we are saying why should you be able to have assault weapons? Why do you need these high capacity magazine clips where you can reel like 30 bullets off before you even need to reload? These kinds of weapons of destruction and chaos can cause havoc in cities. And they do. And these guns come into the city by the trunk load, both legally and illegally. And you see this throughout the country right now. And so it's on all of us right now, not just to pray and to think, but to act.
Martin: Any thoughts about what would be the way forward given the politics of the situation? I mean, it seems in some ways the politics are more entrenched than they've ever been. You have a politically mixed state. Do you have any thoughts about a way forward here?
Frey: I do have thoughts. And look, I'm a mayor. I fill potholes. We try to put up more affordable housing. We try to keep people safe. But look, if the federal government or the state government is not going to take the necessary steps to protect my constituents, let me do it. Give the city, give Minneapolis, give cities around the country the ability to take action to keep their constituents safe. [...] If there's other levels of government that don't want to take action, let us do it. Mayors deal with these issues on the front lines. We deal in the reality business. And the reality is that you've got guns that can come into the city by a trunk load, and you've got people, like the horrific shooter from yesterday, that will use these guns to hurt people. And so I'm going to do everything possible to protect my constituents. And we are going to do everything possible right now to stand up and wrap our arms around these families. Minneapolis might get knocked down seven times, but we're getting back up eight.
Ellison advocates for assault weapon ban, says one might have stopped Westman
Leila Fadel: After yesterday's killing, you posted online, "We cannot continue as a society to treat these mass shootings like they're isolated events. Instead, we must all rededicate ourselves to building a national resolve to end them once and for all." How do you propose ending them? It seems like they're a regular occurrence in the U.S. now.
Attorney General Keith Ellison: Well, we passed the Assault Weapons Ban in 1994. For 10 years, we dramatically reduced mass shootings. We allowed it to expire in 2004. And the mass shootings went right back up. It's not as if we don't know how to do this. Actually, since the gun legislation we passed just a few years ago, we've seen a reduction in mass shootings. And of course, one is too many, because they're tragic to everybody involved, but we know that we can do this. But we're not operating. And I can tell you, being the attorney general and having spent 12 years in Congress, there's a powerful lobby that will insist that there be guns everywhere, anywhere, and that they be allowed to sell guns to whoever they want to sell them to whenever they want to.
Fadel: So you're talking about federal level changes, not state level changes?
Ellison: I'm talking about both. Actually, I'm talking about more than that. I have sued Glock and that litigation is ongoing. We're suing a local retailer, who, we argue, sold to straw purchasers and should have known way better. So, it's litigation, it's legislation, it's state, it's federal, it's also regulatory.
Fadel: Minnesota has a red flag law, which allows certain people to request a court order to prohibit someone from purchasing or owning a gun. That didn't come into play here. The person, identified as the shooter in yesterday's attack, had many firearms, three with them, but then there was a video with more. Westman killed with weapons that were legally purchased, recently purchased. Was there anything in state law or federal law that could have or should have prevented this?
Ellison: Well, first of all, I think if you start buying a bunch of guns, somebody ought to be alerted. And I also think that if you are as disturbed as Robin Westman clearly was, there ought to be some way for somebody to call and say, "Robin might not need access to a gun right now." So, in this particular case, I think the facts are unfolding and we're going to have to figure out exactly how legislation might have protected the children and the seniors and the teachers. But I think that there are a number of things that very well could have worked, including hotlines and other things like that, just in case, Robin Westman, somehow it occurred to them that they need help. Whether it's at the point of purchase, whether it's banning assault weapons, which she did use to attack. An assault weapon ban, may well have stopped her from using that weapon. There are a number of things we could have done.
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