Dr. Thomas Wyatt spoke to reporters outside Hennepin Healthcare and described how the events unfolded once he was notified by page of a “mass casualty situation.”
Wyatt said seven patients were brought to the hospital in critical condition and four required the operating room. Nine of the 11 patients were children aged six to 14 years old. The archbishop of Chicago called on the government to do more to protect the safety of the public from what he called the “curse of gun violence” — and said such violence is a threat to rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Investigators say that the attacker who opened fire on pupils as they were praying at a church in Minneapolis was “obsessed with the idea of killing children”.
Robin Westman, who killed two children and injured 18 others, did not seem to have any specific motive, according to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara. The murdered children have been identified by family as Fletcher Merkel, 8, and Harper Moyski, 10. The parents of Harper Moyski, Michael Moyski and Jackie Flavin, said in a statement that their daughter “was a bright, joyful, and deeply loved 10-year-old whose laughter, kindness, and spirit touched everyone who knew her”.
“As a family, we are shattered, and words cannot capture the depth of our pain,” they said, adding that they hope “her memory fuels action” to stop gun violence. No family should ever have to endure this kind of pain…. Change is possible, and it is necessary – so that Harper’s story does not become yet another in a long line of tragedies.”