Transcript of Minneapolis Mass Shooting, CDC Director Fired, Biden Admin and Gaza Aid

Two children were killed and more than a dozen injured in a shooting at a Catholic school mass in Minneapolis yesterday.

All of the remaining victims are expected to survive. There is a range of injuries, however.

We'll bring you all we know so far.

I'm Michelle Martin. That's Leila Fadel, and this is Up First from NPR News. The director of the centers for Disease Control has been fired, and several other high-ranking officials have resigned. What's behind these high-profile departures?

And NPR has an exclusive look behind the scenes at some of the contentious debates within the Biden administration over how much pressure to put on Israel to allow aid into Gaza.

The situation on the ground was so dire that you were always playing catch up.

So stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day.

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Yesterday was a day of grief, shock, and anger in Minneapolis after a heavily armed assailant shot through the stained glass windows of Enunciation Catholic Church, where children and adults gathered for Mass early Wednesday to celebrate the first week of school.

An eight-year-old child and a 10-year-old child were killed in the pews of that church. Fourteen more children were wounded along with three adults. By nightfall, hundreds of people came together to mourn at vigils across the city in a nearby school gym. In a city park. The shooter has been identified as a 23-year-old former student. Authorities say they shot themselves behind the church.

The witnesses to yesterday's violence were young, like the victims. Here's 10-year Weston Hallsney speaking to a local television station, Kare 11.

I just ran under the pew, and then I covered my head. My friend Victor saved me, though, because he laid on top of me, but he got hit.

His friend Victor, He says, was shot in the back, but he says he's okay.

For the latest on what we know about this killing spree, we turn to reporter Matt Sepik of Minnesota Public Radio, who was at the scene throughout the day. Good morning, Matt.

Hi, Leila.

Matt, what else do we know about where this happened and the people who were shot and wounded.

The church and school are an institution in South Minneapolis. Enunciation celebrated its 100th anniversary a few years ago. The victims spanned generations. In addition to the children who were hurt and killed, three parishioners in their 80s were also wounded. Police chief Brian O'Harris says the two children killed were pronounced dead at the scene, but he says the prognosis is good for the 17 people who were wounded. All of the remaining victims are expected to survive. There is a range of injuries, however. Officials said Wednesday that multiple children were taken to Hennepin County Medical Center in critical condition. The spokesperson for another hospital, Children's Minnesota, said that seven children were admitted there, and four had been discharged by late afternoon. The father of a kindergarten at Enunciation told me yesterday that his son's class was not at the church service, and the children there were able to shelter in place in their classroom.

Still very terrifying for them. Were you able to talk with any witnesses to this attack?

Pat Scalan is an alum of Enunciation School. He's still a parishioner there and lives down the block in the house where he grew up. Scalan said he thought at first that the gunshots were a roofing crew with pneumatic nail guns, but he realized quickly that it was rifle fire. Scalan says he ran to the scene just as several injured children were coming out of the church. He stayed with them until the first of many ambulances arrived. Scalan says he helped a boy who suffered had a wound to his arm and a girl with a neck wound. She was conscious. Her eyes were good, and she was just a brave little... Then there was another boy who got grazed in the arm, I think. Another brave kid. They were all around fourth or fifth grade.

So authorities have identified the suspect. What do they know about the person they say carried out this attack?

The shooter was named as Robin Westman. Chief O'Harris said the 23-year-old was outside the church and fired through windows into the building. Westman was armed with a rifle, pistol, and shotgun and died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the rear of the church. O'harris said the shooter purchased all of the weapons legally and recently. Westman left behind a video that was scheduled to post to YouTube at the time of the shooting. O'hara said it appeared to show Westman at the scene and included some disturbing writings. The chief says the FBI worked with YouTube to have the video taken down.

How are leaders consoling their community in this moment?

As we heard There were vigils Wednesday night. Another is set for this evening at the Basilika of St. Mary, a large Catholic Church in downtown Minneapolis. At a news conference, standing alongside the police chief mayor and Minnesota Governor Tim Walsh on Wednesday, Archbishop Bernard Hebda read a message from Pope Leo XIV, who said he was, profoundly saddened to learn of the loss of life and injuries in the shooting, and he sends his heartfelt condolences to everyone affected.

That's Matt Sepik of Minnesota Public Radio. Thank you for your reporting, Matt.

You're welcome.

The Department of Health and Human Services says the new director of the centers for Disease Control has been fired.

Hhs announced Wednesday that Susan Monares was no longer CDC Director less than a month after being sworn in. Hours later, though, attorneys representing Monares posted on X that she had not resigned or been notified identified by the White House that she had been fired.

Npr Health Policy Correspondent, Selena Simmons-Duffin, is here to explain. Good morning, Selena.

Morning, Lila.

First, just remind us who Suzanne Monares is and her path to CDC Director.

Well, she's a microbiologist who's held several roles as a career scientist in the federal government. She was President Trump's second choice to lead the agency after former congressman Dave Wheldon, who couldn't get enough support in the Senate. So Monaras did get through the Senate confirmation process. She was sworn in on July 31st, and she came in to lead a public health agency that suffered major staff and budget cuts that's been disparaged by members of the Trump administration. Then in her first week on the job, a gunman fired hundreds of bullets into the agency, and a police officer was killed.

Then what happened Wednesday?

Well, first, the Washington Post reported that Menaras was out. The Department of Health and Human Services confirmed that reporting a few hours later, the Post on X said that, quote, Susan Monaraz is no longer Director of the centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We thank her for her dedicated service to the American people.

But that's not the end of it, right?

Yeah, right. Just after HHS posted that, at least five really extremely senior career scientists at CDC announced their resignations. They include the agency's Chief Medical Officer, the Director of the Center on Emerging Infectious Diseases. Several wrote scathing resignation letters, including Dimitri Descalacas, who directed the Center on Immunizations and Respiratory Diseases. He shared his letter on X and said that no expert from his Center had ever briefed Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. On measles or bird flu or anything else and said, I'm not sure who the secretary is listening to, but it is not us. He also wrote, Having to retrofit analysis and policy actions to match inadequately thought out announcements in poorly scripted videos or page long X posts should not be how organizations responsible for the health of people should function. And then a twist, attorney Mark Zade shared on social media, he was representing Susan Monaras, and she had not resigned. And late last night, he wrote in a statement that, quote, As a presidential appointee, Senate confirmed officer, only the President himself can fire her. For this reason, we reject notification that Dr. Monaras has received as legally deficient, and she remains as CDC Director.

We have notified the White House Council of our position.

And really quickly, what spurred all of this?

Well, I spoke to a senior CDC leader. It sounds like there was a meeting late last week with HHS leadership that went very badly. And what this does is it leaves CDC without a director and without really senior staff leaders at a time when the agency is really struggling.

That's NPR Selena Simmons-Duffin. Thank you, Selena.

Thank you.

We have some exclusive reporting now from NPR. Our reporters have been speaking to more than two dozen former senior Biden administration officials. All were directly involved in shaping US policy towards Israel's war in Gaza.

This comes as Israel's war against Hamas nears the two-year mark. There is now a humanitarian crisis for the 2 million Palestinians living there. We wanted to learn more about what the role the US as Israel's strongest ally may have had in trying to get aid into Gaza to alleviate that crisis.

Npr's Kat Lonsdorff was one of the reporters working on this, and she joins me now. Good morning, Kat.

Good morning.

Okay, so the reporting really took you all behind the scenes for some dramatic months in the Biden administration and in this war. Tell us more about who you talked to and what you heard.

Yeah, I did this reporting with our colleagues, Fatma Tanas and Tom Bowman. The people we talked to were senior officials across the administration. Many of them requested anonymity in order to speak candidly with us about sensitive internal discussions. What they described was a sometimes contentious atmosphere within the administration about the decisions being made. Now, many are grappling with this idea of, did the US do enough. Some people we talked to said the Biden administration prevented famine from occurring in Gaza, which has been declared since President Trump took office. One senior former official told us, Nobody can say we did enough. You can say we made a difference. It could have been worse. But others argued that's not the standard by which to measure success here.

It sounds like there was debate within the administration about how US policy was shaped on getting food into Gaza. How did that play out?

Well, the people we talked to described strong, sometimes bitter arguments about how far the US was willing or able to go to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Some believed the US needed to use all of its leverage to push Israel to let more aid in, including possibly withholding US weapons. Others believed in giving Israel space to conduct its war with Hamas, especially in the early days when the trauma of the October seventh attacks on Israel was still very fresh. There was also a lot of frustration with Israel within the administration when it came to how much humanitarian aid it was allowing into Gaza, with heated arguments between senior US officials and their Israeli counterparts. Very senior Biden officials, including the President himself, would spend hours on the phone with Israel, pushing on specific aid details, the number of trucks getting in on one day or a crossing being opened, for example. Officials told us that this meant that the US was often bogged down, sometimes losing the bigger picture. Here's Elisa Ewers, a former US official involved in the early planning. Here's what she told us.

The situation on the ground was so dire that you were always playing catch up. You were always trying to get ahead of the problem when in fact, you were very far behind.

Okay, so Kat, that was then. What's happening now with US policy and the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Well, now the US, under the Trump administration, largely seems to be allowing Israel to do what it wants. Aid groups on the ground told us that the US is no longer exerting the same consistent round-the-clock pressure on Israel to allow more aid into Gaza as it did under the Biden administration. A White House official told NPR that Trump, quote, wants to ensure the people of Gaza are fed. But regardless of the administration, one former senior US official told us that they thought the tragedy of Gaza has fundamentally compromised American global standing. They said, It's a stain which everyone in the world sees, even if we don't.

That's NPR's Kat Lonsdorff. Thank you, Kat.

Thank you.

And that's Up First for Thursday, August 28th. I'm Leila Fauden.

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