WNBA star Paige Bueckers calls for tight gun control laws after Minnesota Catholic church shooting

Dallas Wings star Paige Bueckers called for tighter gun control laws on Wednesday hours after a shooting rampage at a Minnesota Catholic church left two dead and several wounded.

The suspect was identified as Robert or Robin Westman, law enforcement sources told Fox News. He was carrying three firearms during the attack at Annunciation Church in Minneapolis, authorities said.

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Bueckers, who went to Hopkins High School in Minnesota before committing to UConn to play college basketball, addressed the shooting before the Wings played the Connecticut Sun.

"I've been sending prayers ... It's just really unfortunate," she said, via Winsidr. "I hope there are stricter gun laws put in place so parents don't have to worry about sending their kids to school, people don't have to worry about attending church and all these places are safe. 

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"It's just really unfortunate that gun violence continues to be an issue and there’s really nothing being done about it. I’m hoping and praying that in the future stricter laws are put in place. You need to pray for people going through stuff like that, for the families involved. Pray that people get that sickness, that violence out of them. It’s just very unfortunate."

Police said 17 people were injured, including 14 children. Two of the 17 people injured are in critical condition.

Authorities said the children who died were aged 8 and 10.

Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

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Russian attack kills 10, injures 38 others in Kyiv, Ukrainian officials say

Russia launched a large-scale attack on Kyiv overnight, killing 10 people, injuring at least 38 others and damaging buildings, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a child was killed in the drone and missile attack.

"Right now in Kyiv, first responders are clearing the rubble of an ordinary residential building after a Russian strike," Zelenskyy said on X.

"Russia chooses ballistics instead of the negotiating table. It chooses to continue killing instead of ending the war. And this means that Russia still does not fear the consequences. Russia still takes advantage of the fact that at least part of the world turns a blind eye to murdered children and seeks excuses for Putin," he continued.

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Zelenskyy added that it is "definitely time for new, tough sanctions against Russia for everything it is doing."

"All deadlines have already been broken, dozens of opportunities for diplomacy ruined. Russia must feel accountable for every strike, for every day of this war. Eternal memory to all victims of Russia," he said.

The Ukrainian Air Force said it knocked down 563 of 598 drones and 26 of 31 missiles launched by Russia in a country-wide attack. It said 13 locations were hit and debris fell at 26 locations.

"Unfortunately, the Russians' style is typical in their attacks," Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's military administration, wrote on Telegram.

"Combined strikes, from different directions. And systematic, targeting ordinary residential buildings," the post added.

Officials said numerous buildings had sustained damage, including several high-rise apartment blocks.

In the Darnytskyi district, a five-floor building was partly destroyed, and rescue teams were searching the rubble for trapped people, Tkachenko said.

He said emergency crews responded to the aftermath of the attacks at more than 20 locations in the city.

Fires have also broken out in areas throughout the city.

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António Costa, president of the European Council, said he was "horrified by yet another night of deadly Russian missile attacks on Ukraine."

"My thoughts are with the Ukrainian victims and also with the staff of @EUDelegationUA, whose building was damaged in this deliberate Russian strike," he wrote on X.

"The EU will not be intimidated. Russia’s aggression only strengthens our resolve to stand with Ukraine and its people," he added.

Separately, Russia's Defense Ministry said that its air defense systems intercepted 102 Ukrainian drones overnight.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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