A shooter opened fire Wednesday morning during Mass at a Minneapolis Catholic school, killing two children and injuring 17 other people before killing himself, officials said.
The shooting happened during Mass at Annunciation Catholic School. Monday had been the first day of classes.
Of the 17 injured, police said 14 were children. Two of those children were in critical condition.
The shooting comes as school years are starting across the U.S., and some universities have dealt with false alarms about school shootings. At least a dozen college campuses faced hoax active shooter calls — some featuring gunshots sounding in the background.
Here are some of the things to know about the shooting at Annunciation Catholic School.
What do we know about the victims?
The two children who were killed were 8 and 10 years old, officials said. Authorities have not released the identities of the victims, but said the children who were killed were fatally shot while they were in the church pews celebrating a Mass during the first week of school. It is unclear how many people were inside the church at the time.
Thomas Wyatt, chair of emergency medicine at Hennepin Healthcare, said the hospital took in 11 patients following the shooting. The hospital was treating nine children, ages 6 through 14.
Children’s Minnesota, a trauma center dedicated to pediatric care, said in a statement that five children were admitted to the hospital.
The shooter was a man in his early 20s
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the shooter — armed with a rifle, shotgun and pistol — approached the side of the church and shot through the windows toward the children inside before killing himself in the parking lot. The shooter used all three of his guns, and officials believe all or most of the shooting was done from the outside.
Officials did not immediately release the shooter’s name, but said he was in his early 20s and was a “coward.” Authorities also did not say whether the shooter had any known connection to the school.
“The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible,” O’Hara said during a news conference.
The school goes from pre-K to 8th grade
Social media photos from the first day of school Monday show students in green uniforms greeting each other at bicycle racks, smiling for the camera and sitting together.
Founded in 1923, the school had 391 students enrolled for the 2023-24 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Each grade level has two classes, with about 20 students in each class.
The school is located in the city’s tree-lined Windom neighborhood, about 5 miles (8 kilometers) south of downtown Minneapolis. Social media posts from the school show children holding up summer art projects, playing together and enjoying ice pops.
The school’s website says teachers “focus on Christian values and civic-mindedness.”
The White House has been briefed on the shooting
President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post that he was briefed on the “tragic shooting” and that the White House would continue to monitor the situation.
“The FBI quickly responded and they are on the scene,” Trump said in a statement on social media.
“The White House will continue to monitor this terrible situation. Please join me in praying for everyone involved!”
A separate shooting occurred Tuesday outside a different Minneapolis Catholic school
A shooter killed one person and injured six others nearby Cristo Rey Jesuit High School on Tuesday afternoon, in what authorities believe was a targeted shooting.
Annunciation Catholic School is about 4 miles (6 miles) south of Cristo Rey, and officials do not believe the shootings are linked.
The police chief said Tuesday that a group of adults hanging out near the school were shot, and least one of them was targeted. There was no mention of anyone from the school being involved in the shooting.
