A number of notable Democrats and other liberal figures are criticizing calls for “thoughts and prayers” following a mass shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school on Wednesday in which 2 children were killed and 17 injured.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, in a press conference on Wednesday, briefly acknowledged the pain that the victims’ families were feeling before veering off into an anti-prayer tirade, telling reporters, “Don’t just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now: these kids were literally praying.”

Frey, gained national notoriety five years ago when he made a scene at George Floyd’s funeral by dropping to one knee and sobbing uncontrollably in front of Floyd’s casket.

Meanwhile, numerous Democratic leaders and other high profile liberal figures have taken up the refrain against prayer, choosing to lobby for gun control instead.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), in a post on X, said, “Thoughts & prayers are not enough—Congress must act to stop gun violence.”

Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-FL) was even more blunt, posting on social media, “These children were probably praying when they were shot to death at Catholic school. Don’t give us your f—— thoughts and prayers. Trump got rid of the Office of Gun Violence and Prevention. Trump gutted the resources that were in place to keep our communities safe.”

Former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki also derided those offering prayers, posting on X, “Prayer is not enough…prayer does not bring these kids back. Enough with prayer.”

Psaki’s words drew a harsh response from current White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt who said, “I saw the comments of my predecessor, Ms. Psaki, and frankly I think they’re incredibly insensitive and disrespectful to the tens of millions of Americans of faith across this country who believe in the power of prayer, who believe that prayer works.”

Leavitt added, “It’s utterly disrespectful to deride the power of prayer in this country.”

The suspect in the Catholic school shooting has been identified as 23 year Robert/Robin Westman,  a man who identified as a woman and who left an unhinged manifesto detailing his reasons for the attack and threatening to kill President Trump among other political leaders.

Westman took his own life following the attack on the children.