Parents await news of their children after a reported mass shooting at Annunciation Church in Minneapolis on Wednesday, August 27.At least two victims are reportedly dead, with multiple injuries reported, after a mass shooting incident at a Minneapolis Catholic church and school.
A massive police presence descended on Annunciation Church in Minneapolis on Wednesday morning, with emergency responders having initiated a “mass casualty response” in response to a shooting incident. The K-8 Annunciation Catholic School is located next to the parish.
The active crime log on the city’s website showed dozens of responses to a shooting near the parish on Wednesday morning. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Wednesday confirmed the shooting, saying he had been briefed on the incident.
Media reports said at least two individuals had been killed at the shooting, with numerous injuries reported.
President Donald Trump, meanwhile, said he had been briefed on the incident and the White House would “continue to monitor this terrible situation.”
And Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said on Wednesday that he had received “reports of horrific violence” and was monitoring the situation as well.
A spokesman with the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis declined to immediately comment on the shooting when reached via email.
Local priest Father Paul Hedman shared on X that the shooting began during the Responsorial Psalm during school Mass. He said Auxiliary Bishop Kevin Kenney was visiting the wounded in the hospital.
Annunciation School, which serves Pre-K through eighth grade, was founded in 1923, a year after the parish of the same name began serving the Windom neighborhood in southwestern Minneapolis.
Bishop Kenney told KSTP 5 News: “Horrific. Unbelievable that this could happen. It’s very sad for the community. It’s very sad for the families that have lost loved ones. I’ve talked to a few [parents] whose children are in surgery. They’re panicking, of course. They’re in shock. They’re worried.
“It was the opening school Mass, is my understanding. It’s a horrible, horrific way for all the students to begin the school year,” he said.
The school has 369 students and an average class size of 18 students, according to Private School Review, a website that tracks schools.
This is a developing story. Follow live updates at https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/266191/live-updates-shooting-at-annunciation-catholic-school-in-minneapolis.
(Photo by Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via AP.)
By Daniel Payne and CNA Reports, Catholic News Agency
