Amid debate over whether prayer is a sufficient response to gun violence, a Minneapolis mother whose daughter was wounded in a Catholic church shooting said action is the only way to keep children safe. Speaking days after the attack by a trans-identified shooter that left two children dead during a Mass, she urged Americans to demand policy change.
Malia Kimbrell’s 9-year-old daughter, Vivian St. Clair, a third grader, was shot three times during the Aug. 27 attack at Annunciation Catholic Church, where students had gathered for a back-to-school Mass.
Kimbrell said Vivian was hit twice in the back and once in the arm, and a friend told her that Vivian had a hole in her back, NBC affiliate KARE 11 reported.
Vivian was admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at HCMC and has since been discharged.
Her mother, speaking publicly Thursday, described the day as a “horrific massacre” and expressed grief not only for her own child’s injuries but for the families who lost their children entirely.
“I got to take my child home after this horrific massacre,” Kimbrell said. “But the Moyskis didn’t and the Merkels didn’t. We all dropped our kids off that morning, but we didn’t all get to take our kids home.”
Kimbrell acknowledged the role of faith in healing, but added, “Thoughts didn’t stop the bullets. Prayers didn’t stop the bullets. Action is our only hope.”
She said mere expressions of sympathy were inadequate. “Without action, we will be here again mourning the loss of innocent lives,” she said. Her call was not only for communal responsibility but for specific policy changes.
Kimbrell demanded increased funding for mental health support and a nationwide ban on semi-automatic rifles and high-capacity magazines. She also warned lawmakers who oppose such measures that she would invite them to witness firsthand the pain inflicted by gun violence.
“Any lawmaker who stands in the way of that happening,” she said, “will be invited to my home to hold Vivian’s hand while they change her dressings and clean her bullet wounds.”
She concluded her remarks with a plea for a future filled with hope.
Pastor Greg Laurie of Harvest Christian Ministries in California issued a statement on the Friday following the shooting, saying, “No truer thing could be said about our nation right now than this: we need prayer,” in response to a post by the Department of Homeland Security encouraging people to “pray without ceasing.”
Laurie pushed back against criticisms from political figures, including Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who had questioned the efficacy of prayer in the aftermath of the shooting. Referring to the fact that the children were praying when they were shot, Laurie said, “Yes, it is heartbreaking. … Yet let us remember that Christ Himself prayed as He was crucified, Stephen prayed as he was martyred, and countless other courageous Christians lifted their voices to God in their final moments of life.”
He added that the country needed a “spiritual awakening,” and quoted 2 Chronicles 7:14, calling on believers to humble themselves, pray and turn from wrongdoing.
Jen Psaki, former White House press secretary under President Biden, had earlier expressed similar sentiments to Kimbrell’s. Writing on X, she said, “Prayer is not freaking enough. Prayers does [sic] not end school shootings. Prayers do not make parents feel safe sending their kids to school. Prayer does not bring these kids back.”
Her comments were criticized by current White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who called them “incredibly insensitive,” and by Vice President J.D. Vance, who defended the power of prayer.
The Rev. Franklin Graham, who heads both the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse, joined the response. Writing on Facebook, he addressed those who had criticised faith-based responses, specifically naming Frey, and said their words “do not change or diminish the power and importance of prayer.”
“Because someone calls for prayer doesn’t mean bad things aren’t going to happen or that the emergency is going to disappear,” he wrote. “But prayer is our opportunity to communicate directly with the God of Heaven and take our petitions to Him.”
He cited Bible passages that describe Jesus praying in the face of death and described Satan as “the author of all lies and the turmoil and violence that ensues — like this senseless shooting.”
Graham said that while evil exists, prayer brings comfort, peace, and eventual divine justice. Addressing Frey directly, he said, “I hope that you will come to know the price that was paid for your sins and that you will understand the value of prayer in your own life.”
