Gophers had Minneapolis school shooting on their minds after season-opening win

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Gophers had Minneapolis school shooting on their minds after season-opening win

2025-08-29 13:51 Last Updated At：14:00

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The typical excitement surrounding the start of the season at Minnesota was tempered this week, the heaviness of a too-close-to-home tragedy making it harder to fully escape from the outside world at a football game.

After the Gophers beat Buffalo 23-10 at Huntington Bank Stadium on Thursday night, coach P.J. Fleck used the first three minutes of his postgame news conference to express his sadness and outrage on behalf of the team one day after two children at Annunciation Catholic School were shot to death in church. Fifteen other students and three parishioners in their 80s were wounded in the chilling attack in Minneapolis about 8 miles south of the university.

Fletcher Merkel, 8, and Harper Moyski, 10, were killed while sitting in the pews at a special first-week-of-school Mass packed with teachers, parents and schoolchildren.

“We’re thinking about every single person involved in that tragedy — every family member, not just moms and dads. The grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles, friends, relatives, neighbors,” Fleck said, his voice cracking with emotion. "It’s unthinkable, and there’s a lot that has to be done. I’m not a politician, nor do I act as one, but there’s a lot of things that need to happen and should happen, and we need to hold people accountable to make sure that happens. These are our kids.”

About 12 hours earlier, a little more than 10 miles south, Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah were also having a tough time not only processing the tragedy but putting it aside to talk about the relative insignificance of the season-opening roster construction they'd already been scheduled to address reporters about.

O'Connell has four children, including a 10-year-old and an 8-year-old — just like the two kids who were killed.

“It’s impossible for me to wrap my mind around what those parents are feeling, and I’m just absolutely heartbroken for them,” O'Connell said. “No child should ever be lost to violence in any way. We are praying for all those who were injured and hoping they make full and fast recoveries and, also, praying for all those who witnessed the attack.”

Adofo-Mensah has two young sons.

“I pray that we don’t have to start press conferences like this again. I pray that we don’t become numb to these seemingly more frequently occurring things, locally and nationally,” he said. “And I pray that we break some of the divisiveness that’s involved right now, that we’re in this cycle of inactivity towards being able to find solutions to solve some of these issues.”

Trump threatens to use the Insurrection Act to end protests in Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke an 1807 law and deploy troops to quell persistent protests against the federal officers sent to Minneapolis to enforce his administration's massive immigration crackdown.

The threat comes a day after a man was shot and wounded by an immigration officer who had been attacked with a shovel and broom handle. That shooting further heightened the fear and anger that has radiated across the city since an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Good in the head.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, a rarely used federal law, to deploy the U.S. military or federalize the National Guard for domestic law enforcement, over the objections of state governors.

“If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State,” Trump said in social media post.

Presidents have invoked the law more than two dozen times, most recently in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush to end unrest in Los Angeles. In that instance, local authorities had asked for the assistance.

“I’m making a direct appeal to the President: Let’s turn the temperature down. Stop this campaign of retribution. This is not who we are,” Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, said on X.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said he would challenge any such action in court. He's already suing to try to stop the surge by the Department of Homeland Security, which says officers have arrested more than 2,500 people since Nov. 29 as part of an immigration operation in the Twin Cities called Metro Surge.

The operation grew when ICE sent 2,000 officers and agents to the area early in January. ICE is a DHS agency.

In Minneapolis, smoke filled the streets Wednesday night near the site of the latest shooting as federal officers wearing gas masks and helmets fired tear gas into a small crowd. Protesters responded by throwing rocks and shooting fireworks.

Demonstrations have become common in Minneapolis since Good was fatally shot on Jan. 7. Agents who have yanked people from their cars and homes have been confronted by angry bystanders demanding they leave.

“This is an impossible situation that our city is presently being put in and at the same time we are trying to find a way forward to keep people safe, to protect our neighbors, to maintain order,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of three people who said they were questioned or detained in recent days. The lawsuit says two are Somali and one is Hispanic; all three are U.S. citizens. The lawsuit seeks an end to what the ACLU describes as a practice of racial profiling and warrantless arrests. The government did not immediately comment.

Homeland Security said in a statement that federal law enforcement officers on Wednesday stopped a driver from Venezuela who is in the U.S. illegally. The person drove off then crashed into a parked car before fleeing on foot, DHS said.

Officers caught up, then two other people arrived and the three started attacking the officer, according to DHS.

“Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired a defensive shot to defend his life,” DHS said. The confrontation took place about 4.5 miles (7.2 kilometers) from where Good was killed.

Police chief Brian O’Hara said the man who was shot did not have a life-threatening injury. O’Hara's account of what happened largely echoed that of Homeland Security, which later said the other two men were also in the U.S. illegally from Venezuela.

The FBI said several government vehicles were damaged and property inside was stolen when agents responded to the shooting. Photos show broken windows and insults made with paint. A reward of up to $100,000 is being offered for information. The FBI’s Minneapolis office did not immediately reply to messages seeking more details.

St. Paul Public Schools, with more than 30,000 students, said it would begin offering an online learning option for students who do not feel comfortable coming to school. Schools will be closed next week until Thursday to prepare for those accommodations.

Minneapolis Public Schools, which has a similar enrollment, is also offering temporary remote learning. The University of Minnesota will start a new term next week with different options depending on the class.

Madhani reported from Washington, D.C. Associated Press reporters Sophia Tareen in Chicago; Bill Barrow in Atlanta; Rebecca Santana in Washington; and Ed White in Detroit contributed.