Vice President Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance were in Minneapolis on Wednesday to meet with victims of August's mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School.
"I have never had a day that will stay with me like this day did," Vice President Vance said during the visit.
Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, met with the parish pastor, the school principal, and family members of victims.
One of the meetings was with Lydia Kaiser, who is still in the hospital after being injured in the shooting.
On Wednesday Lydia's father Harry read Vice President Vance a letter, in which he implored the vice president to use his station to push for meaningful gun control measures.
"We disagree about so many things. We both know both sides, and all the talking points we fall back on," the letter read. "But on just this one issue of gun violence will you please promise me as a father and a Catholic that you will earnestly support the study of what is wrong with our culture that we are the country that has the worst mass shooter problem?"
"Thoughts and prayers haven’t been enough; many policies have been dismissed without even being studied or tried."
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Lawmakers, city officials and other family members of those killed in the shooting have also called for more action to control gun violence and support mental health care.
The shooting on August 27 killed two children and injured 17 others, including Kaiser.
On Wednesday surgeons removed a bullet fragment from 10-year-old Weston Halsne's neck, which was embedded there after it was shot through nearby windows into the church.
