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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Police: Two Children killed, 14 children & Three Adults Hurt In Shooting; Sen.-elect Catelin Drey (D-IA), Is Interviewed About Winning State Senate Race In Area Trump Carried. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired August 27, 2025 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

TONY MONTALTO, 14 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER GINA MONTALTO KILLED IN PARKLAND SHOOTING: We all need to come together, Democrats, Republicans, Independents, we all need to come together and demand change. There are things that the president could do through executive orders, such as mandating behavioral threat assessment teams at each school that receives federal dollars. There are things in Congress such as the MSD Act to -- that we support to have a panel look at how to secure classroom doors and provide dollars to have that done. There's the Eagles Act, which would allow the US Secret Service to continue their research into preventing school violence as well as go out and help our communities understand how to do proper behavioral threat assessments and management.

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: Tony Montalto, very grateful to have your perspective on the show today, sir, although of course, a terrible day for everyone here.

CNN's Breaking News continues right now. Jake Tapper and The Lead.

[17:01:04]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. We begin with breaking news on this awful and sadly all too familiar scene in our national lead. The United States flag outside the White House has been lowered to half-staff as the nation mourns two children, ages eight and 10 who were killed in a shooting at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis earlier today. The children were sitting with classmates in church pews during a mass.

At least 17 others are wounded, 14 of them children as young as six years old. We just learned the three adult victims are parishioners in their 80s. The Minneapolis Police chief just moments ago said all of the injured victims are expected to survive. The school includes students Pre K through eighth grade. This was the first week of school.

The mayor of Minneapolis today expressing profound grief and frankly, also some anger at the failure of our leaders to take sufficient meaningful action to prevent the continuation of massacres like these in the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR JACOB FREY, (D) MINNEAPOLIS: Don't just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now. These kids were literally praying. It was the first week of school. They were in a church.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Moments ago, the governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, said these kids went to school to find learning and curiosity and they were met with something very different.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN): They were met with evil and horror and death. And we often come to these and say these unspeakable tragedies or there's no words for this, there shouldn't be words for these types of incidents because they should not happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Police say the shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after using three different weapons to shoot dozens of rounds into the church windows from outside the building. Police are still working to determine a motive based on the ample evidence the shooter left behind. They did say the shooter did not have an extensive known criminal history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF BRIAN O'HARA, MINNEAPOLIS POLICE: We are also aware of a manifesto that the shooter had timed to be released on YouTube. This manifesto appeared to show him at the scene and included some disturbing writings.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Sources say authorities are evaluating, in addition to the manifesto, a series of videos posted to YouTube by a user identified as Robin W. They are trying to authenticate them and potentially learn more about the motivations in this horrific attack. The videos which have been taken down were first uploaded earlier today before the shooting. We have a lot more and there's a lot of breaking news about this horrific incident.

CNN Law Enforcement Correspondent Whitney Wild is on the scene in Minneapolis with the latest on what we know about how this shooting unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREY: There are no words that can capture the horror and the evil of this unspeakable act. Children are dead.

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENTCORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A peaceful start to the day ends in tragedy after a gunman opens fire during mass at a Catholic Church and school in Minneapolis, killing two children.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a possible active shooter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any troopers responding, we just need a lot more medical.

WILD (voice-over): It happened just before 8:30 this morning local time. Police say dozens of children were inside the mass.

WESTON HALSNE, 10-YEAR-OLD STUDENT: It was like shots fired. And then we kind of like got under the pews. It kind of -- they shot through the stained glass windows, I think, and it was really scary. And I just ran under the pew and then I covered my head. My friend, like saved me though, because he laid on top of me.

But he got hit. He went to the hospital. I was like two seats away from the stained glass windows. They were like -- the shots were like right next to me.

WILD (voice-over): Monday marked their first day back at the preschool through eighth grade school.

O'HARA: During the mass, a gunman approached on the outside on the side of the building and began firing a rifle through the church windows towards the children sitting in the pews at the mass. Two young children, ages eight and 10, were killed where they sat in the pews.

[17:05:13]

WILD (voice-over): Minneapolis police rushed to the scene and entered the church to try and provide first aid to victims and also rescue some of the children who were hiding in the building.

FREY: You cannot put into words the gravity, the tragedy, or the absolute pain of this situation.

WILD (voice-over): This man lives near the church and heard the gunfire.

BILL BIENEMANN, ATTENDS MASS AT CHURCH: I said, there's no way that could be gunfire, there was so much of it, so it was sporadic.

WILD (voice-over): He rushed to the scene and spoke to a survivor as he came out of the church.

BIENEMANN: He said it looked like just a normal Sunday mass. So it was full, you know, of people and children. He just ran. You know, when this fire, he said it seemed like it went on for eternity, but when it stopped, he just -- he ran out of the building.

WILD (voice-over): Victims are now being treated at local hospitals, including Hennepin Healthcare, which says many of its victims are young. The chair of emergency medicine at the hospital says four of the patients required surgery. DR. THOMAS WYATT, CHAIR OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE, HENNEPIN HEALTHCARE: Nine of the 11 patients were pediatric ages, I can't emember the exact ages, I believe it's six, all the way up to 14, that's the range.

WILD (voice-over): Police say the investigation is just beginning and that the gunman was in his early 20s and armed with a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol.

O'HARA: This was a deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshiping. The coward who fired these shots ultimately took his own life in the rear of the church.

FREY: This kind of act of evil should never happen, and it happens far too often.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WILD (on camera): Jake, anyone with children at a Catholic school, at a religious school, knows how important that first day is, that moment when everyone goes to mass. And quite often, that special experience to kick off the school year is shared with family members. What is abundantly clear here after hearing from the principal and the mayor, is that what was supposed to be a very special day has been completely destroyed. Lives upended.

This has reached the Pope. The Vatican sent his deepest sorrows to the archdiocese here, who read a statement from Pope Leo earlier today. We'll have much more on that later in the show, Jake.

But back to the investigation, what we know now is that police are looking in to a series of quite bizarre videos. Some of them are rambling. Some of the information indicates that he had this real obsession with shooters and shows rambling written statements.

Jake, finally, what we know is that the firearms were purchased legally and recently. Jake.

TAPPER: Whitney Wild in Minneapolis, thanks so much. And we are learning a lot of new information about the shooter. We are trying to verify it and make sure it's accurate before we bring any information to you. A video posted on YouTube does appear to show the shooter rambling, saying things such as, I don't remember how far I went and there's bugs in my skin and I can't deal with this anymore. We saw a person flipping through notebook pages with indiscernible writing.

Some pages showed dates, including today's date, August 27th. In a different video, you hear the shooter referencing a message left to the family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBIN WESTMAN, ANNUNCIATION CATHOLIC SCHOOL SHOOTER: Here's my note to my family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Let's bring in CNN's Brian Todd, who is tracking part of -- this part of the story.

Brian, what else are we learning about the shooter?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jake, we've obtained significant new information on the shooter. Here's what we can tell you right now, the FBI has identified the shooter as Robin Westman, 23 years old. The agency is calling this, quote, a domestic "an act of domestic terrorism." But the police say they do not have a motive yet to establish it as a hate crime. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O' Hara says Westman has no prior criminal history.

The shooter was armed with a rifle, shotgun and a pistol, which the police chief said all were obtained recently and legally they were purchased by the shooter. According to a yearbook obtained by CNN, Westman graduated from, excuse me, from Annunciation Catholics grade school in 2017. According to a social media post, Westman's mother previously worked at Annunciation from 2016 through 2021. Police are investigating.

As Whitney pointed out a moment ago, online videos apparently posted by the shooter which describe an obsession with school shootings. The videos show a rambling written statement with guns painted with slurs with the names of mass killers, including the shooter at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 and also some political messages in that -- in that rambling written statement.

In the videos, which are titled with Westman's full name, the person recording them pages through this handwritten notebook. The notebook describes feelings of self-hatred and wishes to die. And the words I'm so sorry are written in large letters one page. The notebook also includes a diagram of the inside of a church which appears to match the layout of Annunciation Catholic Church. The person recording shows themselves stabbing a knife into that drawing of the layout of that church while saying the words, quote, "Ha. Nice."

[17:10:13]

Jake, you know, again, piecing together this information, all of it incredibly disturbing. And again, as I think people have been pointing out since this happened, you know, you see, obviously some real clues here as to what a motive could be, but they're not saying formally what it is yet.

TAPPER: The Minneapolis Star Tribune, just as another piece of the puzzle as to who the shooter was, Minneapolis Star Tribune says, according to court records, because there's been some confusion about what the shooter's name was.

TODD: Yes.

TAPPER: Robin Westman's mother applied to change her child's name in 2019. It was at one point Robert Paul Westman.

TODD: Correct.

TAPPER: But since she identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification was underage, it's now Robin Westman.

Brian Todd, thank you so much.

Let's bring in CNN Security Correspondent Josh Campbell and former Assistant Department of Homeland Security Secretary Juliette Kayyem.

Josh, let's talk about what we just heard from Brian Todd's reporting. What strikes you as most important from all that stuff? The rambling messages and the horrific imagery in some of these -- some of these videos?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: You know, as we've been covering this, Jake, I've looked at the past analysis from FBI profilers that have looked at past shooters and some of the attributes that we're seeing here, and there are just so many similarities. When you talk about someone, it appears from, again, this information that we're trying to confirm, this is someone who had some type of grievance, perhaps various different grievances which we've seen in the past, often conflicting grievances that may not even make any sense. Again, you know, we're talking about a senseless act, that's obvious. But as we try to analyze these situations, that's one thing, obviously, the audience should keep in mind that no action is going to satisfy any answer why someone would engage in such horrific depravity. But we are seeing again some of the similarities and commonalities to the past.

The authorities have a lot of work to do still as they try to investigate this person. One thing that stands out to me is that it appears just on what we heard today from both the head of the FBI as well as the Minneapolis police chief who's there in charge of the investigation on the ground, I'm wondering if there's any daylight between federal and the local investigators because the FBI director had tweeted out that this was being investigated by the bureau as domestic terrorism, as a hate crime, specifically anti-Catholic. The police chief was asked that, have they again covered any evidence of that kind of motive, and he said, no, we have nothing like that yet. And so what you want in this situation is for the feds and the locals to be completely lashed up. We know the FBI is there on the ground assisting.

But I'm just wondering what more we will learn, especially from the FBI that educated them to that this was, you know, something that was specifically anti-Catholic.

None of that obviously makes much difference to those who have lost so many people here, so many people impacted by this terrible tragedy. But authorities need to know exactly what happened because they study these to try to prevent the future ones.

TAPPER: Juliette, what is striking to you?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: This does replicate other cases for a variety of reasons. So first is just to be clear and to reiterate what Josh is saying. This gap between what the federal government saying and the local and state, what they're -- what they're saying is important only because it does get to motivation. If this is a hate crime against Catholics because they are Catholic, I know that this took -- this took place at a -- at a Catholic school solely because they are Catholic, that's a different fear and concern for the community.

It appears, based on our reporting, that he had ties -- or that the assailant had ties to the school, both because she or they went there or because the mother went there. That now just -- that now tells me that's why they knew, you know, they knew what the school looked like. They knew and understanding of what the timing was, where the kids would be, and there may be something related to the mother or to ties to the school that get to why it was chosen. The second is on what are we going to do? We know that gun control is not likely to happen in this political environment.

But we have got to believe as Americans that there is a -- there is a wide lane in between innocent behavior and a school shooting. And we see it again in this case. We see public pronouncements, performative aspirations of violence, a literal word trail of what is going to happen. Obsessions with guns do not tell me that people around the killer did not know that this was the obsession. And we see this in every case.

[17:15:04]

I don't love it. I would love more control over the means of destruction, but there is a wide lane that as community members, neighbors, family members, we need to begin to focus on because someone doesn't wake up one morning and say, this is what I'm going to do today.

TAPPER: Juliette Kayyem and Josh Campbell, thanks to both of you.

My next two guests have been on separate missions trying to prevent any family from ever again feeling this kind of unimaginable pain. They're coming together to join us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: We're back with our breaking news coverage of this horrific, deadly school shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school. Two children were killed while sitting in a church pew. They were attending mass. Seventeen others are wounded, including 14 children. According to a CNN analysis, this is the 44th school shooting this year.

[17:20:00]

Let's talk about this with Kathleen Anderson from the Minnesota Chapter of Moms Demand Action and Nicole Hockley, co-founder of Sandy Hook Promise. Nicole's son Dylan was killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting. There is a picture of him forever 6 years old. And as always, we are thinking about Dylan today.

Kathleen, details are still unfolding, of course, but let's get your reaction to this horrible shooting taking place in Minneapolis.

KATHLEEN ANDERSON, VOLUNTEER, MOMS DEMAND ACTION MINNEAPOLIS: Yes. Thank you, Jake. Thank you for having me here. I wish I didn't have to be on the national news, but here we are. I was at the state fair this morning with my children when the news started to break and I started to hear stories from local volunteers, neighbors of the school, people that live on the same block that they were hearing gunshots and starting to comfort survivors and families as they started to gravitate towards the school.

So this actually hearing the breaking news while I waited for this call was sort of my first time to get updated on a lot of the breaking news that was coming out. So it's a very, very raw and emotional day for us all.

TAPPER: Yes, it's horrible.

Nicole, CNN's Brian Todd just moments ago was reporting that the shooter left a trail of evidence. This shooter had left a trail of evidence and seemed to have an obsession with other school shooters, including the Sandy Hook shooter. Obviously, I want to get your reaction to that.

NICOLE HOCKLEY, LOST SON, DYLAN, IN SANDY HOOK SHOOTING: Yes, I mean, obviously this day is very triggering and upsetting for so many reasons. And I'm grieving with the families and I'm also incredibly angry because this is a very familiar pattern to us. And we know that when these signs come out, that when this obsession with other shooters, these types of manifestos, all of this evidence, people need to speak up and say something. Someone knew and didn't say something. This was so preventable.

And that's why, while I'm still grieving and incredibly sad, I am outraged that this keeps happening and we have not learned from the past so that we can prevent these acts from happening in the future.

TAPPER: Yes. And it does seem to be this Venn diagram, most people that are firearms owners don't commit acts of violence and most people that have mental illness don't commit acts of violence, but there is this nexus where the two groups meet and there does not seem to be sufficient effort to keep guns out of the hands of people who are a danger to themselves and others.

Kathleen, what can be -- what more can be done to focus on this area of people in mental health crises who are determined to get a firearm to commit harm?

ANDERSON: Yes. Thank you for that question. I know that Sandy Hook Promise is working around the country to help schools and identify red flags and help students and administration know who they can contact when they hear of these plans, if it is a fellow student. And that work is so important. I know that here in the state of Minnesota, our organizers have been working around the clock to get out the word out about extreme risk protection orders.

Those are also called red flags, excuse me, red flag laws. And that's to prevent something like this from happening. When somebody is making active threats, when they're clearly showing signs of being in or approaching a crisis and not willing to voluntarily relinquish their guns, law enforcement can step in. Family -- concerned family members, loved ones and other natural helpers can petition for them to be denied access to their guns while they can get help, while they can recover and deescalate a situation before it turns into a tragedy like this morning. And so we're trying to get the word out about that as much as possible.

These are laws that pertain to high risk situations --

TAPPER: Yes.

ANDERSON: -- but it is a tool for us that we have at our disposal.

TAPPER: And Nicole --

ANDERSON: And 21 states have them around the country as well.

TAPPER: Nicole, having unfortunately had to live through this in the worst possible way, you have an expertise that no one would want, but you have it. What sort of resources will this community need to support the kids and others who live through it?

HOCKLEY: You know, this is -- this is their day one, and I'm almost 13 years out and we still need resources and support because the trauma and the lasting ripple effects of this don't just affect those that are immediately impacted in terms of direct loss or injury, it ripples throughout the community for life. So I'm thinking about the families that have had someone killed today and how they're experiencing this first night and the shock and denial. I'm thinking about the community in six months time, in five years time, the funds that they're going to need for mental health support, the way that they're going to have issues that fragment them as a community and help them come together. This is -- this is never ending. And unfortunately today it's Minneapolis. And this happens in so many towns, in so many cities across the country every single day.

[17:25:11]

They're going to need a lot of support. There is no getting over this. This is with you for life. It's with me today.

TAPPER: And Nicole, a few years back, Sandy Hook Promise, the group that you help found, put out this video aimed at raising awareness for catching the signs of potential school shooters. We're going to roll a little clip of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These scissors really come in handy in art class.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These colored pencils too.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These new socks, they can be a real lifesaver.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I finally got my own phone to stay in touch with my mom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: What sort of signs of potential school shootings, school shooters should parents and communities across the country be looking out for right now? And how should they report it? What are the resources to principals, police? Who should they talk to?

HOCKLEY: You know, there's a long list of signs available and it's usually an escalating thing. As someone recently said in your show today, it's not like anyone wakes up that morning and says, I'm going to go do a school shooting. It's a pathway to get there. You can go to sandyhookpromise.org and we have signs there. But it's -- it can be something as simple as giving away things, fascination with firearms, fascinated with -- fascinations with previous shooters, not being able to resolve conflicts peacefully, feeling a grievance and feeling that a weapon is the only way to take revenge on someone or take care of that grievance.

Or it could be super overt signs of someone saying, I am going to shoot up a school because those overt signs happen as well. When these signs are seen, as Kathleen talked about, there are extreme risk protection orders that helps. If you see something, if you hear something, report it to authorities, report it to mental health providers, report it to school officials, report it to whoever needs to be reported to take an action. We have an anonymous reporting system and a crisis center down in Miami that serves close to 10 million kids across the country right now, that program is available at no cost throughout the country. There are so many services available, but you have to have the training on how to recognize the signs and how to take action.

And these are lessons that we need to practice with our kids because they're seeing things, they're hearing things. Family members are seeing things and hearing things. We have to take action and prevent these.

TAPPER: Nicole Hockley and Kathleen Anderson, thank you so much for joining us today. We appreciate it.

As this investigation plays out the fear that may spread at other schools and other cities. How to deal with the anxiety school shootings create. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[17:32:16]

ZUHEIR SAFE, GRANDDAUGHTER INJURED IN MINNEAPOLIS SCHOOL SHOOTING: It's very sad. It should not be this way. People should not have guns.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What are you going to say to her when you see her?

SAFE: I'll give her a hug. That's all. (END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: That was the grandfather of an eight-year-old girl who was wounded in this morning's horrific Minneapolis school shooting, where two children were killed and at least 17 others were wounded, 14 of whom were children.

Let's bring in Dr. Andrea Bonior. She's a psychologist and professor at the University of Minnesota. She's a professor of psychology at Georgetown University. Andrea, always good to have you on. This awful tragedy comes at a time when millions of children are returning to school. This is, you know, opening school week in Minneapolis.

Starting a new school year already comes with nerves, anticipation. Then you had this layer of feeling unsafe. How might this affect students across the country and what should their parents and teachers be doing?

DR. ANDREA BONIOR, PSYCHOLOGIST: Yes, I mean, it's just really a fraught time, I think, in so many ways and the start of school year and, you know, people in my county went back to school today, too, or yesterday, actually. The start of the school year is always somewhat a combination of nerves and excitement.

And so I think that parents have to be really careful that they know that already students have the jitters. And so I think the first step is really finding out what your student has actually heard because depending on the age of your child, they might have heard more or less than you're expecting.

So it's not the type of thing where we want to sit them down and talk about this without first kind of getting an idea if they've heard something about it because anxiety can grow so quickly. We don't want to contribute to that unnecessarily.

TAPPER: Senator Amy Klobuchar, who's from Minnesota, she told CNN earlier today that her former staffer's daughter was in the church and was watching her friends get shot. One got shot in the neck, one got shot in the stomach. The girl then had to tell her friend's father what happened. These are really heavy things to carry and witness for anyone, for a soldier in combat, let alone a child in church.

BONIOR: Yes.

TAPPER: What can parents do to help their children cope after witnessing and experiencing such a tragedy? And are there any specific behavioral warning signs parents should be looking for in their kids as they process this trauma?

BONIOR: It's staggering. I mean, it's horrifying just when you think about the sheer number of students who have actually been direct witness to this type of violence over the years, and it's absolutely enormous. The toll that this takes in terms of trauma, and the first thing to remember with the trauma response is that when it has just happened, everything is in flux. Everything is in motion. Someone might be in shock. Someone might not be ready to talk about it. [17:35:06]

Typically, we don't want to force people to talk about details of the trauma if we don't have to, when they're not quite ready. So the first step, if your child has witnessed something horrific, is to let them know that they are now safe. Give them space. Bring them home. Let them know right now they are safe and you're ready to listen when they feel like talking.

And then think about professional supports. I truly would advise anyone whose child has witnessed this level of violence to strongly consider whether or not they could talk to somebody and to seek out professional support. Because it is true that the ripple effects of trauma can keep going and may even just emerge later on when you think your child is doing OK.

A kid might be able to sort of proceed as normal for a while and then it hits them later. They're watching a movie and it all comes back to them and that's when it explodes. So in terms of behavioral warning signs, any change from your child's norm is worth paying attention to. Some kids start to withdraw socially. They start to isolate themselves. They might have been an A student. Now, they're a C student. They might be more irritable.

They might be just more pessimistic. They might be just in a sort of dark mood where they seem to make comments that are kind of cutting. Also, any type of warning signs that make it seem like they are really, really depressed, which typically in addition to social isolation, has to do with tearfulness, has to do with moodiness more so than you're used to seeing.

Of course, it's complicated if they're an adolescent because some of these mood fluctuations can be normal.

TAPPER: Dr. Andrea Bonior, we always appreciate you. Thank you so much.

As authorities investigate what led to this horrific tragedy, we're going to uncover even more disturbing writings, apparently written by the shooter. New horrific details, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:41:18]

TAPPER: We continue to monitor the horrific breaking news out of Minneapolis about the shooting at a Catholic school. Two young students were murdered in the shooting, 17 others were wounded including 14 children. We want to show you some new images apparently from a video that was shot by the shooter on one message written on a part of a firearm. It says 6 million wasn't enough.

That's obviously a reference to the 6 million Jews killed in the holocaust. Another one of these rambling says, Israel must fall like a phoenix we raise from the ashes, unquote. These two are just two of the many depraved writings and racist writings and extremist writings that police are reviewing right now including expressing fondness and appreciation for previous murderers, previous school shooters.

Earlier today the principal of Annunciation Catholic School had this moment after today's shooting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT DEBOER, PRINCIPAL, ANNOUNCIATION SCHOOL: We lost two angels today. Please continue to pray for those still receiving care.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Nineteen people were shot today. An eight-year-old and a 10- year-old were murdered. Let's go back to CNN's Whitney Wild. She's in Minneapolis. And Whitney we know Pope Leo has reached out to this grieving Catholic school community.

WILD: That's right Jake. He reached out directly to the archbishop here who shared Pope Leo's words and he expressed profound, profound sadness that such an event would happen here at a Catholic church on the first day of the Catholic school's school year. The arch -- the archbishop here took a moment to note that Pope Leo had spent time in Minneapolis.

He had spent part of his time growing as a priest at a hospital here in Minneapolis. He's familiar with the area. And again the Vatican reached out directly to the archbishop here. The principal here wants the world to know how strong and resilient this community is. They are beginning their school year with this theme of hope. Here's more from the principal Matt DeBoer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBOER: When we plan -- planned for this school year, we intentionally chose a theme from the prophet Jeremiah Chapter 29. A future filled with hope. There's nothing about today that can fill us with hope. We as a community have a responsibility to make sure that no child, no parent, no teacher ever has to experience what we've experienced today ever again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WILD: The other message that Principal DeBoer shared, Jake, was he wanted the -- what he said was he wanted everyone to put these words into their mouth, never again. He wanted that to be the main message here. He wants everyone watching to say never again. Everyone in this community to say never again because what brings you hope in this moment, Jake, as you know and as I know and we've covered so many of these is that it is how the community reacts. How your neighbors react that gives you hope in that -- in those immediate moments following a tragedy.

Jake, this is a school that has a very long history. The church here was founded in 1875. Many of the people here are descendants of the founding families of this school. They will meet each other now more than ever, Jake. TAPPER: Whitney Wild on the scene in Minneapolis Minnesota, thank you so much. We're going to continue to follow new details coming out of Minneapolis.

[17:44:45]

We're also break -- following some other breaking news from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC. The agency's brand new director was just ousted after just a few weeks on the job. We're going to talk about that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: We're following other breaking news. Sources are confirming to CNN this afternoon the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC, was ousted only weeks into her tenure.

Dr. Susan Monarez was sworn in on July 31st. During her confirmation hearing, Dr. Monarez distanced herself from some Trump administration actions, including the mass layoffs at the CDC. Her comments also appeared to put her at odds with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is neither a scientist nor a doctor, on issues such as the benefits of vaccines and fluoride in public water.

It's not clear, as of now, why Director Monarez was let go. HHS did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment. We will bring you more information on that story as we learn it.

[17:50:07]

Also in our Politics Lead, a state Senate race in western Iowa is drawing the attention of Democrats all over the nation. It is a rare moment of victory for Democrats. In a special election, Tuesday, Democrat Catelin Drey captured an open state Senate seat previously held by a Republican. She won 55 percent of the vote in a county that President Trump easily carried just last year.

And state Senator-elect Drey joins us now. Thank you so much for joining us. Congratulations. I want to get to your win in a moment, but obviously one of the biggest issues across the country right now is crime and gun violence, and we've been focusing up until now on the mass shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school, Minneapolis obviously very close to Iowa.

In Iowa last year, there was an incident at Perry High School near Des Moines that left two dead and six injured. A 2022 incident in Sioux City involved pellet guns that injured four students and an adult. What do you think can realistically be done?

CATELIN DREY (D-IA), STATE SENATOR-ELECT: I think that the number one thing we have to realize is that these are children and human beings and not statistics, and it is unconscionable to me that we continue to throw our hands up and say, what can we do when we know that the solution is universal background checks, is reasonable solutions that can be proposed and can be enacted that are supported overwhelmingly by Americans and by responsible gun owners, and I am devastated like other parents across the country to hear of yet another incident at a school.

TAPPER: Let's turn now to your state Senate race. Your district includes Sioux City, and as we noted, President Trump easily won this area. State Senate District 1 last year. How'd you do it? Did you focus on quality of life issues, on affordability issues? What was the main reason you won, you think?

DREY: Absolutely. Affordability is the number one issue that I heard about on the doors over and over again, and I think the reason that that message was successful is because we met people where they are. We knocked on over 17,000 doors. We made almost 30,000 phone calls, and we really just wanted to hear from the constituents in Senate District 1. We prioritized Spanish language communication, which is a feat in and of itself.

I am mildly bilingual, and so that was really important to me, but we are a surprisingly diverse area, and quality of life, like you said, and affordability affects us whether we are black, white, or brown. And being able to afford a good life in Iowa has gotten harder, so reaching voters with that message was priority number one.

TAPPER: What kind of solutions were you talking about with voters in your State Senate District to help them with the affordability crisis? Obviously, right now, inflation, it's OK. It's not great, but it's much better than it was during the Biden administration. Obviously, tariffs are causing some problems, I imagine, in Iowa in particular. What specific issues?

DREY: The number one thing that I kept hearing over and over again is that it is increasingly difficult to make a living in the working class. We disproportionately, at both the state and federal level, have policies that benefit a slim minority of people at the very top, and it is not fair to continue to saddle the working class with overburden of taxation, and so we need to get back to a tax structure in the state of Iowa that has those at the very top paying their fair share, and that resonates across the working class, like I said.

TAPPER: It's no secret that the Democratic Party nationally is struggling to find a winning message. I'm old enough to remember Barack Obama winning Iowa in the presidential race twice. Twice he did, and now it seems just a solid red state. What happened to the Democratic Party that they stopped being able to win Iowa?

DREY: I don't think that we have stopped being able to win Iowa, and this race and others across the state that we've had in special elections are proof positive of that. We have a message that is resonating, and that message is, how can we help? What can we do to make your life a little bit better? And right now that looks like making child care and health care and housing more accessible and more affordable, and that resonates with Democrats, Republicans, and Independents.

TAPPER: State Senator-elect Catelin Drey, you're the first Democrat we've had in a long time with a smile on her face. Thanks so much for coming on, and congratulations.

[17:55:03]

DREY: My pleasure. Thanks so much for having me.

TAPPER: We're also following, of course, that tragic shooting today at a Catholic school in Minneapolis. Moments ago, we learned two-by-fours were put up through the handles of the church door exits. Those were put up by the shooter, police say. There are also disturbing writings by this person. Much more of the new details coming next.

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[17:59:39]

TAPPER: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. We start tonight with breaking news. Police in Minneapolis say they do not yet have a clear motive, but they're reviewing an apparent manifesto after a horrific mass shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis by a former student. Police say children were praying inside a Catholic church during a mass marking the first week back at school when the gunmen shot through the windows. Two children, ages eight and 10, were murdered, 17 others, 14 children and three elderly adults in their 80s, were also --