Gov. Tim Walz to call special session on gun laws after Minneapolis school shooting

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz plans to call a special legislative session to consider tougher gun laws following a shooting last week at a Catholic school in Minneapolis that left two children dead and 21 people injured.

The Democrat told reporters Tuesday, after welcoming children back to a public school in the Minneapolis suburb of Eagan, that he'll be making calls to lawmakers and working on a plan over the next couple of days. Walz said he intends to propose a “very comprehensive” package that could include an assault-weapons ban.

But it's not clear if new restrictions on guns could pass the closely divided Minnesota Legislature. A special election this month is expected to restore a 67-67 tie in the House under a Republican speaker, and Senate Democrats have just a one-vote majority.

“To be very candid, just in a very evenly divided (Legislature), I’m going to need some Republicans to break with the orthodoxy and say that we need to do something on guns,” Walz said.

GOP legislative leaders, whose support would be critical to any changes, complained after the governor floated the idea of a special session Friday that he had failed to consult them.

Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth, of Cold Spring, said she had a "long overdue" conversation with Walz later Tuesday.

“If he decides to call a special session, anything that we do needs to have bipartisan support,” Demuth said in a statement, noting that both parties showed they could work together in this year's regular session. "If Governor Walz and Democrats are focused on partisan accusations and demands, this special session will not be productive for the people of Minnesota.”

Demuth indicated in an earlier statement that Republicans might be open to expanding school security funding to include private schools, and providing more money for mental health resources.

While the governor didn't give many details of his proposals, he said they won't infringe on Second Amendment rights, but will protect students. He indicated his plan could include safe storage and liability insurance requirements, improvements to the state's 2023 “red flag” law, and more funding for mental health. He also said he's open to GOP ideas.

“If Minnesota lets this moment slide, and we determine that it’s OK for little ones to not be safe in a school environment or a church environment, then shame on us,” Walz said.

Separately, Vice President JD Vance will head to Minneapolis on Wednesday to pay his respects to shooting victims. His wife, second lady Usha Vance, is also going, and the pair plan to hold a series of private meetings “to convey condolences to the families of those affected by the tragedy,” the vice president’s office said in a statement.

The mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul, joined by several suburban mayors, held a Capitol news conference Tuesday to call on the Legislature to change a 1985 state law that prevents cities from enacting their own gun restrictions.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said they would strongly prefer for Congress and the Legislature to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines at the national and state levels.

“If you’re not able to do it, or willing to do it there, give us the ability to keep our constituents safe,” Frey said. "That is our call. That is our ask."

Police over the weekend raised the number of injured to 21 — 18 children ages 6 to 15 and three adults — from Wednesday's attack at the Church of Annunciation.

The shooter, 23-year-old Robin Westman, died by suicide after firing 116 rifle rounds through the church’s stained-glass windows as hundreds of students from the nearby Annunciation Catholic School and others gathered for Mass on Wednesday.

While investigators last week said they had not found a clear motive for the attack, the shooter had connections to the school. Westman's mother worked for the parish before retiring in 2021, and Westman once attended the school. Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson said last week that the shooter left behind videos and writings that "expressed hate towards almost every group imaginable” but admiration for mass killers.

Tuesday was the first day back to class for most Minnesota public schools, but Annunciation students went back to school last Monday. No students have returned since the shooting and officials at the Catholic school have not yet said when their classes will resume.

Hennepin Healthcare said it was still caring for three patients as of Monday, and that it would not provide further updates. They included one child in critical condition and a child and an adult in satisfactory condition. Children's Hospital of Minneapolis said one child remained there Tuesday but did not specify a condition.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, right, walks with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey outside the Annunciation Catholic School following a shooting Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

The sun shines over the memorial outside Annunciation Catholic Church during Mass after Wednesday's shooting, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in Minneapolis.(AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz waits for a press conference to start outside Annunciation Church after a shooting earlier in Minneapolis, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025. (Alex Kormann/Star Tribune via AP)

A sign honors the two victims who died in Wednesday's shooting, 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski, outside Annunciation Catholic Church, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks outside the Annunciation Catholic School following a shooting Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

HAVANA (AP) — Cuban soldiers wearing white gloves marched out of a plane on Thursday carrying urns with the remains of the 32 Cuban officers killed during a stunning U.S. attack on Venezuela as trumpets and drums played solemnly at Havana's airport.

Nearby, thousands of Cubans lined one of the Havana’s most iconic streets to await the bodies of colonels, lieutenants, majors and captains as the island remained under threat by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.

The shoes of Cuban soldiers clacked as they marched stiff-legged into the headquarters of the Ministry of the Armed Forces, next to Revolution Square, with the urns and placed them on a long table next to the pictures of those slain so people could pay their respects.

Thursday’s mass funeral was only one of a handful that the Cuban government has organized in almost half a century.

Hours earlier, state television showed images of more than a dozen wounded people accompanied by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez arriving Wednesday night from Venezuela. Some were in wheelchairs.

The official announcer indicated that they were “combatants” who had been “wounded” in Venezuela. They were greeted by the Minister of the Interior, Lázaro Alberto Álvarez, and the Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, Álvaro López Miera.

Those injured and the bodies of those killed arrived as tensions grow between Cuba and U.S., with President Donald Trump recently demanding that the Caribbean country make a deal with him before it is “too late.” He did not explain what kind of deal.

Trump also has said that Cuba will no longer live off Venezuela's money and oil. Experts warn that the abrupt end of oil shipments could be catastrophic for Cuba, which is already struggling with serious blackouts and a crumbling power grid.

Officials unfurled a massive flag at Havana's airport as President Miguel Díaz-Canel, clad in military garb as commander of Cuba's Armed Forces, stood silent next to former President Raúl Castro, with what appeared to be the relatives of those slain looking on nearby.

Cuban Interior Minister Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casa said Venezuela was not a distant land for those killed, but a “natural extension of their homeland.”

“The enemy speaks to an audience of high-precision operations, of troops, of elites, of supremacy,” Álvarez said in apparent reference to the U.S. “We, on the other hand, speak of faces, of families who have lost a father, a son, a husband, a brother.”

Álvarez called those slain “heroes,” saying that they were example of honor and “a lesson for those who waver.”

“We reaffirm that if this painful chapter of history has demonstrated anything, it is that imperialism may possess more sophisticated weapons; it may have immense material wealth; it may buy the minds of the wavering; but there is one thing it will never be able to buy: the dignity of the Cuban people,” he said.

Thousands of Cubans lined a street where motorcycles and military vehicles thundered by with the remains of those killed.

“They are people willing to defend their principles and values, and we must pay tribute to them,” said Carmen Gómez, a 58-year-old industrial designer, adding that she hopes no one invades given the ongoing threats.

When asked why she showed up despite the difficulties Cubans face, Gómez replied, "It’s because of the sense of patriotism that Cubans have, and that will always unite us.”

Cuba recently released the names and ranks of 32 military personnel — ranging in age from 26 to 60 — who were part of the security detail of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro during the raid on his residence on January 3. They included members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior, the island’s two security agencies.

Cuban and Venezuelan authorities have said that the uniformed personnel were part of protection agreements between the two countries.

Meanwhile, a demonstration was planned for Friday across from the U.S. Embassy in an open-air forum known as the Anti-Imperialist Tribune. Officials have said they expect the demonstration to be massive.

“People are upset and hurt. There’s a lot of talk on social media; but many do believe that the dead are martyrs” of a historic struggle against the United States, analyst and former diplomat Carlos Alzugaray told The Associated Press.

In October 1976, then-President Fidel Castro led a massive demonstration to bid farewell to the 73 people killed in the bombing of a Cubana de Aviación civilian flight financed by anti-revolutionary leaders living in the U.S. Most of the victims were Cuban athletes returning to their island.

In December 1989, officials organized “Operation Tribute” to honor the remains of more than 2,000 Cuban combatants who died in Angola during Cuba’s participation in the war that defeated the South African army and ended the apartheid system. In October 1997, memorial services were held following the arrival of the remains of guerrilla commander Ernesto “Che” Guevara and six of his comrades, who died in 1967.

A day before the remains of those slain arrived in Cuba, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced $3 million in relief aid to help the island recover from the catastrophic Hurricane Melissa, which struck in late October.

The first flight took off from Florida on Wednesday, and a second flight was scheduled for Friday. A commercial vessel also will deliver food and other supplies.

“We have taken extraordinary measures to ensure that this assistance reaches the Cuban people directly, without interference or diversion by the illegitimate regime,” Rubio said, adding that the U.S. government was working with Cuba's Catholic Church.

The announcement riled Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez.

“The U.S. government is exploiting what appears to be a humanitarian gesture for opportunistic and politically manipulative purposes,” he said in a statement. “As a matter of principle, Cuba does not oppose assistance from governments or organizations, provided it benefits the people and the needs of those affected are not used for political gain under the guise of humanitarian aid.”

Coto contributed from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Workers fly the Cuban flag at half-staff at the Anti-Imperialist Tribune near the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in memory of Cubans who died two days before in Caracas, Venezuela during the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)