“Give your kids an extra hug and kiss today.” Jesse Merkel spoke at a news conference outside Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, where his 8-year-old son, Fletcher, was one of two children fatally shot at a back-to-school Mass on Wednesday. Read more: nyti.ms/45HBSKN
Am bracing for the Alex Jones treatment of this poor man.
and donald tells maga to buy more guns.
He made no mention of the dangerous rhetoric Fox news did while grieving such a loss. We need gun control. Not saying take everyone's guns. Just like manage who has access. The NRA runs our government.
I'm sorry, did you just criticize how someone spoke about their murdered child? Is that *really* what you just did?
CRITICIZE Re read it, it was a compliment. smh
Ah, my bad. So much subtlety in language. Who knew?
Organized religion helped make sure this murder was possible
So many future gunmen in America just realized that all they have to do is blast through windows. We keep saying idiotic things like teachers should carry guns. The kids have recess guys. They have school drop off and pick up. It’s the guns. And I have been so sick of this in our country.
💔. The GOP doesn’t care about kids! They continue to do nothing to keep them from being slaughtered again & again. On top of that, they continue to cover for pedophiles & make excuses. This is part of the moral apocalypse.
It pisses me off how many replies put "prayers" or 🙏 !!! Really? Seriously? THE KIDS WERE PRAYING WHEN THEY WERE SHOT!! GIVE IT A FUCKING REST!!!
1st- Who did you vote for? 2nd- if it was Trump , then all I can say is SORRY but FAFO (NRA) 3rdly-If you voted for Harris- from the deepest depths of my heart I’m so sorry for you.
So dead children and grieving families are only worth compassion if their families voted for Democrats? Your heart has hardened that much?? The majority of Americans didn’t vote in the last election at all. The partisanship in the USA is as baffling as the lack of significant gun reform.
Yes IDC about lazy people that didn’t vote Welcome to The Divided States of America
You're a fucking disgusting troll
Indeed, because a white far right republican terrorists could shoot them anyday with his guns.
I was very much of a loved child. I received a lot of love during my childhood and now I give it back to all my dear ones. Nobody should have to give anyone an extra hug and kiss, because if I were an American parent, I would fight for a country with no firearms.
A picture of that child, and every other person killed by American politics should be hung in the Capitol and White House, along with recordings of the tormented screams from their agonised parents. Politicians more interested in power should be made to wade through the agony they cause.
Gee, why does the world's #1 purveyor of global terrorism and genocide have a violence problem on the "homeland" that we stole from its original inhabitants by genociding them?
Roll eyes: Roll eyes Gotta agree. Get rid of the damned guns! Especially those ones that shred everything they hit. All parents particularly should quit voting for politicians who vote to keep automatic weapons legal.
Fuck you, NYT That's it. That's the post. Nope, wait - Also, go fuck yourself
😭 I can feel the grief. I am so sorry beyond words to express.
The Russian owned NRA & their Agent Krasnov is responsible for the continued killing of our children in schools where we hope they are protected. But everyday we see that the cowardly republicans proudly touting their multiple guns own this.
God bless you l for praying and supporting us, slava Ukraine 🇺🇦💙💛
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Oh now they are going to give that money to their ‘churches’ snd private schools …
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😭
💔
man fuck that this is insane that parents have to give a speech bc their little kid was slaughtered with a gun. pathetic country
😢😢😢🤬🤬🤬
No parent should have to say these words.
Everytime this happens, another piece of everyone's heart is removed. Well, mostly everybody.
🙏❤️🙏
So u send out prayers? Seriously?
I didn’t know this little boy Fletcher. I lost a little boy once too. I had another little boy . This absolutely brings me to tears & breaks my heart. 💔Fletcher was adorable . He looks like he just enjoyed life. He’s now an Angel in Heaven May he RIP🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Broke my heart & brought me to tears😢💔
Sorry but who did he vote for? If he voted for republicans ever, then he voted for this. Sorry for his child but keeping it real.
OH MY GOD SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU CREATURE
,❤️❤️❤️🙏🙏😞
Unimaginable pain. God, America is such a wretched place now. What do they average for mass shootings in America now.......closing in on 2 per day or something like that? Wretched.
It's not good, that's for sure. I feel for you folks. I truly do. But what I find to be so mind-boggling, is that for all these years, there were sooo many folks who adored him, smiling and nodding, cheering and ... completely baffling me. Like lemmings over the cliff, they followed this fool. 2/
2/ It's truly baffling, how this happened. Is it lack of knowledge? Republican at ALL costs, even tho a loudmouth bully is spewing crap? Who knows. Those (like you), who are seeing this for what it TRULY is, must feel completely broken, & for that, I truly grieve for you poor folks. I HONESTLY do. 🙁
3/ I'm a Canadian. Thank Christ. 🙂
Just heartbreaking. But nothing is ever done to prevent it
How can America continue to let this shit happen?Why are your guns more beloved than your children?Do you really care so little for life,for all the young lives that love you so much,that you'd rather keep weapons safe than your children?You're a deeply sick,sadistic nation that you let this repeat!
Agreed. I wish I had an answer but sadly don’t. You would think after the massacre of little children at Sandy Hook would have stopped the madness but it didn’t. Republicans do love their guns, tax cuts for rich, cutting healthcare and food assistance to the poor more than human life.
How can America continue to let this happen? Answer: the fucking GOP
No just them,but yes certainly a big part.It's deeper than that though,it's a power thing,a cultural thing.Of the militias in every state,most,but not all,are politically on the far right,it's literally a "Come & take it"attitude! That's weak mean imbuing guns with their manhood,& it's pathetic.
The numbers tell a different story, most Americans want tougher gun laws
What you fail to understand is that it is not our guns that are the problem. Americans have always had guns, but hisotrically, shootings like this are a recent development. The problem is our people. We have slowly degraded into a society rife with degenerates.
We are being held hostage by a psychopathic minority who managed to lie, steal, and cheat their way into power.
You are so right. I wonder how many parents of the children affected by this tragedy own guns and are now willing to give them up.
I've lived my 70 years quite happily without a gun.Neither my children,or I,have ever had to fear they'll be slaughtered by a gunman while at school.No one's ever tried to do anything to me that made me wish I had a gun.How hated must those people be,that owning a gun is all that keeps them safe?
I've never owned or wanted a gun, and I am a white, native born American citizen, but I am sorry to say that the terrorism of ICE has made me consider getting a gun. ICE wants violence, and they will find a way. This coward didn't want to wait.
I can't say I blame you!My country is,so far,luckier than yours in its leaning toward such fascism.If our UK government starts acting with the authoritarian moves that yours currently does,I will be worried.Should Farage go further,who knows?But the prevalence of weapons makes US particularly scary
Your country is a lot closer to fascism than you think. Consider that your government is criminalizing solidarity with Palestine. That's pretty unabashedly evil.
NO! My country is not close to fascism. My country has already fallen into fascism. The administration is racing to tear every institution we have to shreds before the executive they are propping up completely decays to dust in front of us. The White Christian Nationalists are eager to take over.
Yes it is,& yes it is! I voted Labour,was hugely hopeful,then very quickly less so,I've since cancelled my membership of the Party.I've been more than disappointed in their governance,now I'm disgusted & worried.I support Palestine & don't begin to understand their continuing support of Israel.🤬😢💔
Native US citizen here. I hate guns. I loathe the NRA. I will *never* own a gun. The NRA once sent me a survey and I gave them a piece of my mind and told them never to send me anything else. They could not care less about children dying in mass shootings. They probably love it.
People power is the only weapon that can defeat ICE but the sad reality is that large swathes of the population is in agreement with the current regime, and too many of those who oppose it are too lazy to simply get out to vote.
Agree
I feel like this reason is the only justifiable reason to own a gun. I would never think of owning a gun, but I was in the US right now, no question I would need one, your government has given me trust issues.
Ice wants violence too. It will be their excuse to become more violent.
You're better than ICE. You don't need a gun to fight these animals. People's power is stronger. Look at the cities that gather and chase ice out.
It's wonderful to see but also scary.ICE & their co- branches are just itching to shoot the protestors,soon one of them will,& as soon as Trump pardons them,it'll be literal civil war.That's what they're waiting for,permission,the excuse to open fire on the crowds they see as "Other"! I foresee it!
Fight them by protesting calmly but with many people and cameras. It has been proven many times in many countries that people's power is extreme. As you should appreciate, the camera never lies. Look at the lies Trump told, and he denied
He may use his new Fed agent force to TAKE the 2028 election.
Right? He is ripping into the military with a chainsaw. Replacing those he removes with..."loyalists"?? He is hiring for his 10k fed agent force to quote "Carry out Presidents Trumps agenda". His cult would kill Americans if they thought he wanted it... Isnt this what the #2A is all about?
They don't care about safety. They want their guns to feel powerful and maybe kill some of "those people" one day.
Zero!
Sadly, more than you realize own them and less then you think would give them up.
Many of us or many don't own guns. But it doesn't matter when your neighbor has an arsenal of 30 of them.
An arsenal of military grade weapons. Any weapon whose function is to kill people. I’m not too worried about a neighbor with a shotgun and a hunting rifle. I grew up in central MN. Literally all my neighbors were hunters with guns. My dad had several. All had trigger locks & a gun safe.
Probably would But don’t conflate responsible gun ownership with this tragedy. Don’t get me wrong, I am definitely for gun control. There is no need for guns like the one used.
But there is such a thing as responsible gun ownership. I’m from MN. My father is a hunter. I was raised in a house with guns. Guns stored with trigger locks and in a gun safe. I was taught about the dangers of guns. No playing with toy guns. Toy guns were to be treated as lethal weapons.
Never point even a toy gun at anything but the intended target. Handle responsibly. I don’t hunt myself & have no need for a gun. The problem is that responsible gun owners need to stop buying the NRA’s BS that any control is a slippery slope to taking all guns.
That is just the NRA & Gun lobby scare talk… disinformation. The other problem is the MAGA mindset that they can do whatever they want and facts don’t matter. That is a dangerous, deluded mindset when it comes to guns.
None because "they" think they are the good people with guns and the "others" are the criminals!!! 😔😥😞
There are no "good people with guns"! Only soldiers at war should have guns!Our police only carry weapons in specific situations,suspect is armed,or specific Hi-risk situations.None of the regular police on our streets carry guns.We don't go around thinking people are out to get us all the time!
There was a boy in Toronto shot and killed in his house two weeks ago and it barely made the news 😞
Don't get it. These are your children America.
You can insult them all you want, but the Christian republicans don't not care what names you call them as long as you do not infringe on their right to kill.
Its a small subset of americans and republicans in charge that block any type of gun reform. This has been going on for decades. They are a cult.
If the subset is small,they should be losing the fight on gun reform,but they don't.This subset of sadistic,heartless psychopaths win every time.More than win,they get reforms overturned or blocked.Literal crazy people can get guns,serial domestic abusers can get guns,I think the subset is huge!
Simple question, who follows laws? In Utopia, ban guns & everyone might be safer but in Utopia, murder is illegal so no crime. Address the mental health crisis & not knowing one's sex is a clear indicator of a mental problem. NYT doesn't mention the real issue. Sympathies to families there. 🙏
Who told you trans people "don't know their own sex"?Whoever it was,obviously knows absolutely nothing about what being Transexual means!You do know that there are Intersex humans?They can have several sex characteristics,including genitals from BOTH sexes.Do you think they have the right to choose?
What percentage are intersex?
It doesn't matter,any more than it matters what % of the population are gay or bi or blonde.Existing matters,being able to choose your career,your hair style or which gender you identify with,how you feel,being comfortable in your own body,that's what matters,not what % of the population one is.
Being able to exist without hurting or impacting others existence. Obviously in Minnesota's case, he couldn't do that. 😟
Was that murderer even actually trans?Or just a fucked up soul who couldnt deal with life,something he'd have decided regardless of gender,there's a shortage of really good,well trained psychologists,maybe if he'd had one they have seen the danger & if Bondi & Patel did their job he'd have been seen
Since I don't think anyone can change their sex, the term trans(ition) is a misnomer and it is a mental illness. People with mental illness are allow to own fire arms thanks to Democrats pushing gun control so enforce that. Maybe that would stop some mass shootings.
My goodness your bigotry & narrow mindedness shines through like a spotlight.Anything,any cause,other than the fucking obvious one:ITS THE GUNS!& AMERICAS LOVE OF THEM &ITS LAX LAWS ABOUT CRIMINALS THAT CAN HAVE THEM!Transgender humans aren't the problem,the love of weapons & disregard for kids are!
Start with the name calling, even though it's ineffective now because the left/liberal have overused them. Might as well throw in racist and white supremacist too. A person can be medically mangled but it's not going to change their sex. "Follow the science".
Intersex people have a physical reason for not knowing their sex, all others have a mental reason for not knowing it. Would you affirm an anorexic person and give them diet pills because they thought they were fat? Mental disorders need to be treated and I'm sympathetic to people afflicted.
It will always be profits over people. Always.
Apparently Americans care more about their guns being taken away than their children being taken away. And this doesn't include all those children taken away by guns brought into their homes by adults who's reasoning is they didn't want their children or guns taken away.
This state implemented the common sense laws we've been asking for Waiting period & background checks There's more to be studied to ensure this doesn't happen again Education to encourage people to speak up & ensuring that if there is nothing found the reporters won't be revealed to the target
Capitalism is why. Capitalism kills. Capitalism must end.
Because Americans don’t give a shit about kids being slaughtered in classrooms. You can’t change my mind.
I don't understand why these people aren't totally pissed off and ranting at Congress to pass laws that will prevent this from happening again! I am irate over this continuous insanity and I am not a parent! #RepublicansBlood
I went to a back to school event at a Catholic Church yesterday and it was surreal hearing the absolute first thing they addressed being how safe the school was with armed guards and cameras around the entire campus. Insane world we live in.
Sorry his son died.
💔💔💔
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Every Republicunt has the blood of these children on your hands, your party supports this gun culture and the violence it brings. None of you are fit to be in the gov of the US.
Why doesn't Trump do something truly useful for a change and claim that all AR-15 rifles are illegal in the USA. NO ONE should have these guns. And how about the Homeland Security/FBI pay attention to what is being posted re anger, murder, etc. It was all on there. Where is everybody?
He won't. He cares about nothing but himself, power and money. He and all the RethugliKKKans want us dead in any and all ways that are possible. The US loves its stupid guns more than it loves its children. Period.
💙🙏🏼💙
Enuf with the prayers gawd dammit!!! 👹🤬
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🙏🏾❤️sad, a parent isn’t supposed to bury their kids. More gun control now.
How many children will be sacrificed to the bloodthirsty god of 2A worshippers before someone finally makes this stop?
NYT suddenly interested in fighting fascism now that kids are dying again.
🙏🏾
American death exceptionalism. We need to get big money and coercion out of government. Make our constitution actual. And sane gun legislation.
Republican voters don’t give a damn about your child. Those assholes love their guns more.
💔💔💔💔 Just hard to understand why we keep allowing this sadness come to so many American families. #GunControlNow
We are not willingly letting it happen. Every GOP rep needs primaried and thrown out of Congress. Dems need to enact sensible gun laws.
I never grow numb of the young victims of these wholly unnecessary acts of barbarity, yet, as your northern neighbour I am numb to the idea that America and its citizens will ever do anything about GUNS like every other civilized nation.

While secret service searching for immigrants no-one looks for mass murderers
We are a deeply ignoant, cruel and sick society. $ worshippers rule all. And no one will do am effing thing. If Sandy Hood wasn't enough, there is no hope.
I typed Sandy Hook. Thanks autocorrect.🤦♀️
How many of the members of the congregation own assault rifles? Where I live, those in that demographic often have quite a few. They even send Christmas Cards with the whole family observing what appears to be military style Christmas.
Hug em tight——> tight
Another victim of gun violence.
FFS, America. Healthcare provision - 80 years behind. Gun laws - 120 years behind AT LEAST. Not all your problems are down to Trump, but we can sure as hell see why you elected him President. You need a spell in quarantine to sort yourselves out. It's horrible.
Help.
I wish I could. Sadly, America's harm goes beyond its own borders.
More trans terror against Christians. It's time to stop dancing around what this is, and normal people need to say enough is enough.
And 'Christians' need to stop terrorizing/targeting trans/lgbtqia people. For far too long, such bigots have hid behind and used their religion to shame, ostracize, marginalize, and even attempt to forcefully 'convert' members of the lgbtqia community. Such agitation prompts a variety of pushback.
So you're saying you support what happened in Minneapolis because these hypothetical Christians had it coming. Got it.
Fuck off nazi troll
BORING
Prayers are bs. This nation is evil. To continue to allow this is the deepest and most unforgivable negligence.
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Revoke Kamala SS detail + slash funding for gun violence prevention = absolootelyfuckingnothing GOOD
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Yeah and then the POS wants to send the National Guard there instead. 🤬
Yep, that’ll do it 🙄🤦🏻♂️
Fletcher, the world will never know how You would have been able to have influenced it if you had been given the chance. My sympathy to his family, friends and to the world for his loss. May God bless you and hold you close.
MAGA loves dead children
I admire his composure at feeling the need to speak so soon. We’ve become a society that social media and media forces us to respond to raw grief right away, as if it’s we owe it to strangers. 2 days after family members were killed, I couldn’t pretend calmness & understanding from God.😶😔😢
The MAGA cult are murderers. They don't care about your children. Let that sink in 🔥
💔💔💔💔💔
I tutored in an American East African school for 2 yrs. Every day I worried that a right-wing nut case might try to come in and carry out a mass shooting spree.
It’s the only role in America you don’t want, but you’re never allowed to resign from the candidate pool.
And his audience? - they're not just witnessing, they're attending their own potential inauguration ceremony. Watching the job they pray they'll never have to do, knowing their eligibility is permanent and non-transferable.
handoff ceremony happens at gravesites and podiums across the country. previous holders of the position passes the microphone to next unwilling spokesperson, who never applied for the job but gets it anyway when their child becomes a statistic of the long shadow of gun violence in land of the free
Mr. Merkel standing there isn't just a grieving father, he's the current holder of a position that gets passed around American communities like a curse. Today it's him, tomorrow it could be any parent in that crowd, next month it might be someone watching from home thinking "that could never be me
That podium Mr Merkel standin on not only gut wrenchin — it’s a revolving door, a stage in the “grief lottery” where every parent prays their number never gets called… but deep down knows the odds are rigged.
Everyone's waiting for their number to come up next in the grief lottery on that podium never stays empty for long.
And the saddest part? The crowd listening knows it too. They know tomorrow it could be their kid, their school, their turn at the podium. America has turned grief into a rota system — funerals as recurring public events, while the machine that fuels it stays untouched.
His pain is real, his plea is genuine, his love for his child is heartbreaking. But the system that killed his child is already manufacturing the next tragedy before his tears are dry.
Heart wrenching to watch and the sad thing is many have experienced the same horrific personal loss before him and many will experienced that same horror and nightmare long after him , the deadly gun violence cycle resets and will start choosin next victims as soon as he steps down his podium
💔💔💔💔💔🙏🙏☮️☮️❤️❤️
🥲🥲
Heartbreaking! Get rid of the guns, America! How many times are you going to allow this to keep happening?! From🇬🇧
a true minnesotan.
lets hope the next is at a CPAC meeting, then maybe something will get done
More guns than people, says it all.
I can't imagine his pain and the rage he must feel.
Then VOTE every MF’ing Rethuglican who voted AGAINST common sense GUN REFORM OUT OF OFFICE!
Oh God, I can't even imagine 😥
It hurts to see this father making his heart felt speech about this horrific event. When will the USA finally take the necessary steps to reduce (or better yet eliminate) these senseless deaths.
A ban on guns espc assault weapons most likely will never be under Republican rule etc
Give them a kiss then tell your Senator, your representative, your neighbor … it’s the fucking guns
Those of us who have witnessed gunshot wounds to children in our profession,are suffering post traumatic stress disorder every time this horror happens. Sympathy can not be expressed adequately. Heartbreak,anger and hopelessness. My heart hurts for those grieving. Heartfelt sympathy.
Heartbreaking 💔
There's a deeply held American fantasy that owning guns will protect us from a dictatorial government, and that is why we shouldn't get rid of guns even given the never ending gun violence. Strange that when the government does go authoritarian, the gun folks are on their side. So why the dead kids?
My heart hurts for him. He’s so brave to be able to stand up and speak about this. I know he is destroyed by all of this. I pray for comfort for him and his family; & for reason, for rational change, finally—some recognition that there must be change in how guns are regarded in this country.
FUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
😥💔
😭😭😭😭
🙏🙏🙏
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To all theists who really care about gun issues, save your prayers, but send your thoughts to your representative, your congress person, to the godamned President. Phone them,email them, get out and protest. Cos sure as hell prayer ain’t working for you,and it will happen again and again and again!
Heartbreaking
History will speak of this dark time in America as a serious illness known as GREED & Lack of Empathy ruled the day
My heart is breaking for this loving father, and disappointed and dismayed in the politicians who don’t take gun control and mental illness seriously. They have blood on their hands and should answer to the electorate who have allowed them to make such bad decisions.
So heartbreaking! 😢
So dignified.
How these parents survive this grief is hard to understand. We MUST do more action to prevent this violence. It's gun control.
Sorry. This father * others lost to gun violence will not have peace. You see others with the ability to make a difference value 💰 more than life. Americans don't say it out loud but it's 👌 4 kids 2 die due 2 guns. Sad, a gun has never fed, housed or educated anyone but it has eternal life.
Meh. Fewer Americans in the world is a win
Scumbag
Think how much, and of importance will be, has already been buried in the grave. Walt Whitman
My heart goes out to this father.
Republicans are murderers.
😪💔 It's the fucking guns!
and its the fucking Republicans who vote down gun control every single time. They even refuse to limit gun access for people with documented mental health issues.
We should restrict the sales of AR-15 weapons. “Brazilian law prohibits civilian ownership of “assault weapons.” While handguns and some semi-automatics are allowed under tight restrictions, true assault-style rifles like AR-15s fall into a restricted category.”
The legal ones here are NOT assault weapons.
If you keep pulling the trigger quickly, you can shoot multiple rounds in succession and kill as many people as possible.
lol the MAKER of ar-15s clearly said they are ASSAULT WEAPONS. STFU!
Yet, they aren't. The military styles are.
No. The maker of those weapons literally went on record to say the ar’s are ASSAULT WEAPONS, you stupid motherfucker! How tiny is your dick that you need something like that? Must be microscopic!
He’s a magat. Look at his profile. Block him.
I know. Notice he hasn’t said jack shit since I brought up his littledickitis and his need for a little dick compensator😂😂😂😂
Who are you talking to?
I’m talking about you. Anyone who owns or defends owning an ar ASSAULT WEAPON is lacking.
And semi-automatic weapons
I have my Grandfather's Remington Model 8A. It's a semi-automatic rifle that he hunted with. It was made in the early 1900's. They been around for a long time and they aren't going away.
Mass shootings were virtually unheard of in the 1900s, but now they’re an epidemic. You may not understand it because you don’t have young children who has to do mass shooting drills in public schools.
Yes, there are mental health issues now.
And do you want to give them more guns?
Them, who?
You blamed gun violence on mental illness, so do you want the mentally ill people to purchase more guns?
No
💔
💔💔💔 how many more must die for us to enact gun control laws ?
If it didn’t happen after Sandy Hook, it’s not going to happen 😞😡
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Hand in your weapons. It only takes a bad feeling for an owner to take it out on others. They don’t make people safe. Pressure your representatives to implement a buyback scheme if you’re worried about how much they cost
Welcome to America where we ban trans people before guns
No parent should have to do this. But time after time they show up.And try to understand why America won’t keep our children safe.By pleading with politicians to band all weapons of mass destruction (war weapons) better back ground checks. It’s heartbreaking! Their child was massacred! The strength
Omg no. I can’t any more.
💔
Alex Jones and MAGA will call this wounded parent a "crisis actor"
Not if the shooter was transgender.
Americans complaining about guns on social media when you should go complain to your state government.
Who says they aren't?
#GOP, #NRA, #Trump killed those kids and 1000’s of others across America 🇺🇸. There policies s a lobbying kill ppl daily. @cnn.com @cnbc.com @nytimes.com @wsj.com @washingtonpost.com
Republicans killed this boy
To be precise, Republican politicians who care more about their donations from the gun industry than anonymous children.
Yes they did
And all the Christians that voted Republican. I remember when I first visited Amerika I saw a yard sign with 'God, Guns &Glory'. And I was like WTF, that's like completely schizofrenic. My heart weeps for all this little children and their families.
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Agree 💯🙏⚖️
💔
No child should be ripped from life and love because of the pain and hate in another. It reflects on us all and I am sorry to the core of my being..
Fuck republicans.
😞😞😞😞😞 so heartbreaking.
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What that shooter did was pure evil. My heart breaks for the parents who lost a child and they're in my prayers.
So sweet!!💔💔
What kind of people allow this to happen again and again and again? Guns are about making small men feel important. That's what they are. An ego boost for emotionally stunted inadequates. The lives of children should never come second to something so puerile.
Who would have figured dismantling the education system for the last 30 years would have produced dysfunctional adults. This shitstain was probably thrown an IPad as a kid and raised by YouTube.
Tja, dat is dus Trumps Amerika. Geweld màg, en geweldsmiddelen zijn van overheidswege toegestaan. Nu klagen is dus nogal hypocriet.
I can't imagine that pain.
This is all so sad and unnecessary. But, Trump has given all his followers the right to attack, and kill, anyone they want to. He is not just condoning violence with his immigration policies and, masked ICE agents etc, he is encouraging it.
That is heartrending.
This takes such tremendous courage - to speak publicly after just suffering an unimaginable loss. Strength and peace to those suffering in MN. And the rest of us? Strength and courage to stand up to the gun lobby and our current authoritarian government.💙😢🔥
Damn shame the GOP, Trump, and Trump supporters couldn't care less about the murdered children. If you judge by their actions.
SHAME! SHAME! SHAME! SHAME on President jumbo Trump who hasn't the decency to walk the mourning parents because they are mostly Democrats! People with guns kill children! Trump is a murderer and so are all of those members who passed laws to serve the gun manufacturers and not their constituents.
I have the feeling in the US you must be used to these speeches, since you get them almost daily it seems. You guys love guns more than children. Ironically, that seems to be true even more often for people of your “pro-life” persuasion. You know that both those ailments can be cured, don’t you?
I am so sorry for your loss.
💔😢
@smith.senate.gov @governorwalz.mn.gov @amyklobuchar.com @keithellison.bsky.social
Ammosexuals would rather edit out the sound of children screaming than give up their guns.
This so that the Anti-American Fascist Party (formerly the GOP when they believed in OUR Democracy and OUR country not in a fat 34-times convicted felon and soon to be convicted pedophile) can whine about their “2nd amendment rights” to kill kids.
Heartbreaking 💔
Absolute kudos to that poor father who held it together and eloquently asked fo empathyand didn't use his speech as an opportunity to spew hatred at the wrong targets. Right wing fascist gun nuttery has much to answer for. Love and best wishes from across the pond xx
😪😪😪😪😪😪😪😪😪😪💔💔🙏🏻🙏🏻
Omg. I don’t know how he did that. I am crying. Sending his family so much strength and love.
In the meantime Ashley Babbitt is honoured.
Who was hunting to murder a cop
NRA to the gulag
Don’t you dare take my son from me. I don’t have the Grace this man is displaying. If you murder any of my children I will hunt you down and kill you and your kids. Don’t think I won’t.
If its in a shitty edited meme it must be true! Ignore all the statistics, just keep posting memes, right?
Our sorrow. Our shame.
💔💔💔💔💔💔
God help them through this horrible time 🙏
Republican lawmakers are disgusting creatures! To do nothing to reduce gum murders is to go DIRECTLY against their supposed religious leader, Jesus Christ! All for money and power - not for love, as is the message of Jesus.
Because it's likely your child is next....
Wow. An absolutely amazing amount of strength under so much pain.
The gun violence is getting out of hand, trump must a bring a permanent solution to it.
What an abomination USA has become
Call it what it really is…a Republican sponsored mass shooting.
😢
It's 2025. OUTLAW GUNS already!
As the mom of an 11-year-old son who died tragically in a home construction accident, I assure you that this poor grieving man has no idea what he is in for. It actually took me 7 weeks to finally realize, he's dead and not coming back. 33 years later I am still actively grieving on some days
@bethmccarthy4.bsky.social, I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. Thank you for sharing as everybody grieves differently. I, personally, would not be able to speak like this father did, especially the day after. As you say, I'm sure he doesn't know what he is in for.
@bethmccarthy4.bsky.social And always remember the good times you had with your son. Also, know that he is with you always. Take care of yourself.
😞 ❤️ Sorry, Beth. Can't begin to imagine what you've endured.
Let's be clear who refuses to enact gun control. It's primarily the Republicans who vote it down every single time. They even prevented grieving parents from speaking at the Tenessee state house after a school shooting. Their thoughts and prayers are empty.
Throughts and prayers,thats BULL SHIT,it may help you feel better about your support , but it has never helped the result! Prayer didnt help the jews in concetration camps,slaves in bondage,or palestians in garza,jesus has shown you his colors,GET REALISTIC!
Abhorrent elephants 🖤🐘 🖤 #republicans 🖤🇺🇸🖤
That pro-Palestine terrorist who committed this crime will burn in hell forever..
Every republican who supports their gun-toting, faux- #christian , NRA-supporting, 2nd Amendment-addicted representative owns this... blood is on their hands and Jesus ain't gonna like it.
May God bless all of those mourning this tragedy. What an eloquent and remarkable speech.
In one way, the speech was remarkable, yes, but missing the root cause analysis: lack of gun control combined with pronounced exhibition of violence in the USA and economic and political interests in maintaining status quo. May God bless the USA wherever it has gone. 🙏 🙏
God HELP the divided states of america!!
Republicans voted against funds for mental health
I have read many books on grief, and have sat with clients who are working through the grieving process. None of them, to the best of my memory, used the words root cause analysis. This is the time for empathy and love, not for decrying a parent who has to learn to live without a beloved child.
How to do it
He is grieving the very recent killing of his little boy. I don’t think we need to expect this or that from his speech.
💔💔💔 These mass shooting deaths won't stop until Americans decide it's time to make them stop. And that won't happen until Republicans - who keep making it easier for killers to get guns - are defeated at the polls. #Minneapolis #EndGunViolence #2026Elections #MidtermElections #Enough
😢😢😢RIP Fletcher🙏🌻
This man has such a wise perspective and generous way. If my son had been gunned down at 8, I would not have been able to live. I do not think this timeline is conducive to our humanity.
I don’t think it has hit him yet. I too would be inconsolable.
My heart goes out to him and the other parent but America will never ban assault weapons and will never protect children from being gunned down. You are a sick nation.
😪
dont forget to thank trump for keeping your kids safe...
Here’s a thought: little kids praying to their god, shooter kills two little kids, hurts at least 15 more, and idiots on media saying thoughts and prayers for them to get better. Well, they were in church praying already and prayer did nothing to prevent nor alleviate this. Condolences to families.
Clots & Prayers?
My heart breaks for all who have died in school shootings. Ban assault rifles, and more rigorous background checks are needed before anyone can access legal weapons.
We shouldn’t have to if media like you DID YOUR DAMN JOB instead of fluff bullshit and letting oligarchs ruin this country Oh and… Release the trumpstein files
God bless you 💔
Republicans are cowards. Thanks Mitch McConnell! Is he still alive?
Isn’t it time to do something to prevent these disgusting mass shootings? The constitution is out of date. It needs amending. The only thing that will stop these shootings are draconian gun laws similar to the UK. There hasn’t been a school shooting in the UK for 26 years. Wake up America!
Fletcher should be alive. Every child should be safe at school and in church. Instead, we live in a country where leaders choose guns over children. That choice is selfish, cowardly, and indefensible. Hug your kids today—but fight like hell so no parent has to bury theirs tomorrow
OMG how many children have to die?
I'm crying (again)
Yes, hug your kids today. Kids are the great part of our lives. We send prayers to your family today for strength during this time. Fletcher we know you are in heaven, folk will miss you, many shall remember you.
I hope the thoughts and prayers gang choke on their own words.So tragic!
Can we make this be the last parent that ever has to do this! PLEASE 🙏🏻. POLITICIAN AND VOTERS GET THIS OUT OF THE NORM!
🥲😥
Conservatives are selfish, apathetic, callous freaks and they are the cause of this.
