Annunciation Church shooting survivor speaks out, pushes for gun violence prevention legislation at Capitol

Lydia Kaiser, an eighth grader at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis who was wounded during a mass shooting during school Mass last August, on Tuesday spoke out for the first time since she survived 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, 2025, shooting at a news conference at the Capitol. "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.

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 Minnesota 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.

Annunciation families testify, assault weapons ban fails to advance tied House committee

The political realities of the Legislature were on full display later Tuesday afternoon when the House Public Safety Committee discussed two DFL-backed bills: bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. 

Neither proposal advanced to the next committee stop after the panel split evenly, with Republicans rejecting the measures and Democrats supporting the proposals. The vote followed testimony from parents of victims and survivors of the shooting who implored lawmakers to do something in wake of the tragedy. 

"What harrowing detail can I add that will change your heart? When the shooting started, I jumped on the students next to me, but very soon I locked eyes with my eighth grader, Lydia," said Harry Kaiser, Lydia's father and Annunciation gym teacher. "Her face was bloody, and she said, 'Dad, my head.' Grateful she was talking and standing, I decided I had to try to get her help. As she made her way toward me, I prayed, 'God, don't let me see her get shot again right in front of me.'"

Jackie Flavin, mother of Harper Moyski, passionately shared that her daughter's body was so severely damaged by the bullets that she couldn't see or hold her ever again.

"Then, months later, as the pews were removed from that church, more of her remains were found. We had to cremate our daughter a second time. Imagine receiving that phone call and then tell me, what is this gun for. Hunting? There are other tools. Home defense? There are other tools," Flavin said. 

Opponents of the proposals said they are both unconstitutional and inadequate to solve the problem. Rob Doar, president of the Minnesota Gun Owners Law Center, noted the attacker who opened fire at Annunciation had multiple firearms, not just a semi-automatic weapon, which is the target of one of the proposals.

"The best way to honor victims isn't through symbolic prohibition of a particular category of arms, but by preventing the next attack — no matter the weapon, no matter the method — through targeted intervention, early warning systems and strategies that focus on the individuals who pose a risk," Doar said.

Separately, in the House Education committee Tuesday, Republicans introduced bills that focused on school safety, including reallocating $25 million from a proposed train line so schools can receive grants of up to $500,000 to secure their facilities.

Brittany Haeg, mother of first grader David Haeg, described his ongoing road to physical recovery. She explained that since the beginning of January alone, he's had more than three dozen medical and therapy appointments to treat his ongoing physical and emotional wounds. 

He was shot multiple times across his body and pierced by additional bullet fragments, including some that remain in his skull.

"We are now monitoring the rising levels in his blood. We are facing the possibility of additional surgeries, not to repair what was done that day, but to prevent further damage from fragments that are poisoning his body as we speak," she said. "This is what six months look like. It is not a clean recovery. It is not closure. It is a child who still carries pieces of a weapon inside of him, pieces of ammunition our state has recognized as harmful to wildlife because lead contamination is bad for the environment, and yet those fragments remain in my son."

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.