Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the shooter fired through the windows of Annunciation Church during Mass on Wednesday. The gunman was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Two children were killed and 17 people were injured — 14 of them children — in a shooting Wednesday morning at a Minneapolis Catholic school.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the shooting occurred just before 8:30 a.m. local time during a Mass to mark the first week of classes at Annunciation Catholic School. The attack happened at the Annunciation Church next to the school, when a shooter standing outside fired through the church windows at worshippers.
“This was a deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshipping,” O’Hara said. “The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible.”
The two children who died, aged 8 and 10, were killed as they sat in the pews. Several victims are in critical condition.
According to O’Hara, the shooter was in his early 20s and was armed with a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol — all of which he fired during the attack, authorities believe.
The gunman was found dead of a what investigators believe was a self-inflicted gunshot wound, O’Hara said.
“Children are dead. There are families that have a deceased child,” said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. “You cannot put into words the gravity, the tragedy or the absolute pain of this situation.”
Gov. Tim Walz said in a post on X that he was “praying for our kids and teachers whose first week of school was marred by this horrific act of violence.”
President Trump said in a post on his social media site Truth Social that he had been fully briefed on the shooting and that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was on the scene.
“The White House will continue to monitor this terrible situation. Please join me in praying for everyone involved!” he said.
Dr. Thomas Wyatt, the chair of emergency medicine at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, told reporters that the Level 1 trauma center was treating 11 patients — nine of whom are students. Seven are in critical condition.
Children’s Minnesota Hospital told NPR that it had admitted six children for care following the shooting.
“Our teams are trained to respond in times of crisis, and are fully prepared to care for impacted children,” the hospital said in a statement. “We will not share more details to respect the privacy of our patients and families.”
The Minneapolis Police Department said in a post on Facebook Wednesday mid-morning that the shooter was “contained” and there was “no active threat to the community at this time.”