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Jordan King is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her current focus is on religion, health, food safety and population. She has covered the persecution of religions in the global south, fertility and birth rate issues around the world, multiple disease outbreaks in the U.S. and ongoing vaccination discourse. Jordan joined Newsweek in 2024 from The Evening Standard and had previously worked at Metro.co.uk, she has background in international human-interest stories and is a graduate of Kingston University, in London. You can get in touch with Jordan by emailing j.king@newsweek.com. Languages: English.
Jordan King
US News Reporter
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Pope Leo XIV has called for the “pandemic of arms, large and small” to end following the school shooting in Minnesota last week.
Why It Matters
The pope’s plea came as grief and anger spread through Minneapolis and beyond following the latest instance of mass gun violence at a school. The shooting left 10-year-old Harper Moyski and 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel dead and injured 21 other people.
Leo’s remarks connected a U.S. tragedy to international concerns about the proliferation and use of weapons, reiterating the Vatican’s long-standing moral critique of armed violence.
His appeal also came as the Minnesota shooting renewed domestic debate over gun violence, prompted heightened security at schools and houses of worship.
AP
What To Know
Speaking during his weekly prayer at the Vatican on Sunday, the pope said: “Our prayers for the victims of the tragic shooting during a school mass in the American state of Minnesota. We hold in our prayers the countless children killed and injured every day around the world.
“Let us plead God to stop the pandemic of arms, large and small, which infects our world.”
He added: “The voice of weapons must fall silent, and the voice of fraternity and justice must prevail.”
The shooting took place during a Wednesday morning Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis.
Minneapolis Police identified the suspect as 23-year-old Robin Westman and said he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound; investigators reported finding a manifesto and a video that referenced other mass shooters. Authorities said the suspect fired dozens of rounds into the church through stained-glass windows.
Acting U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Joe Thompson said on Thursday that evidence showed that Westman “idolized some of the most notorious school shooters and mass murderers in our country’s history” and had hundreds of pages of writings which showed Westman “wanted to kill children, defenseless children.”
Of the 21 injured in the shooting, 18 are children between the ages of 6 and 15 and three were adults in their 80s who were attending mass at the time, according to the Minneapolis Police Department.
AP
What People Are Saying
Pope Leo XIV said: “We include in our prayers the countless children injured everyday around the world. Let us plead God to stop the pandemic of arms, large and small, which infects out world.”
Minneapolis Police Chief O’Hara said, “This is an individual who, unfortunately, like so many other mass shooters that we have seen in this country too often and around the world, had some deranged fascination with previous mass shootings…
“The shooter expressed hate towards almost every group imaginable. The shooter expressed hate towards Black people. The shooter expressed hate towards Mexican people. The shooter expressed hate towards Christian people. The shooter expressed hate towards Jewish people.”
Acting U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Joe Thompson said, “The shooter saw the attack as a way to target our most vulnerable among us while they were at their most vulnerable at school and at church.”
What Happens Next
The shooting remains under active investigation by local, state and federal authorities.
Meanwhile, Annunciation Church resumed mass over the weekend, with grieving families gathering at memorials around the building. Minneapolis public schools are expected to begin classes under heightened security, while leaders from multiple faith groups have called for a community-wide vigil in the coming days.
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About the writer
Jordan King is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her current focus is on religion, health, food safety and population. She has covered the persecution of religions in the global south, fertility and birth rate issues around the world, multiple disease outbreaks in the U.S. and ongoing vaccination discourse. Jordan joined Newsweek in 2024 from The Evening Standard and had previously worked at Metro.co.uk, she has background in international human-interest stories and is a graduate of Kingston University, in London. You can get in touch with Jordan by emailing j.king@newsweek.com. Languages: English.
Jordan King is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her current focus is on religion, health, food safety and …
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