Minneapolis was thrown into mourning on Wednesday after a lone gunman stormed a church filled with schoolchildren, opening fire and leaving two young pupils dead and 17 others injured.
Police say the attacker, described as a man in his early twenties, unleashed gunfire inside Annunciation Church, where students from the adjoining school were attending Mass to mark their first week back in session.
“Two young children, ages eight and ten, were killed where they sat in the pews,” Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara confirmed at a press briefing. Fourteen of the injured were also children, with two victims said to be in critical condition.
Armed with a rifle, shotgun and pistol, the gunman sprayed bullets before ending his own life in the church parking lot.
“This was a deliberate act of violence against innocent children and worshippers. The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is incomprehensible,” O’Hara said, his voice heavy with emotion.
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The attack triggered chaos, with live footage showing parents rushing to retrieve their children as emergency services swarmed the scene.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz called the incident “horrific,” writing on X that he was praying for the victims and their families. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, visibly shaken, urged action beyond condolences. “These kids were literally praying. It was their first week of school. They should be learning, playing, and worshiping in peace — not dying in a hail of bullets.”
The White House confirmed President Donald Trump had been briefed, with the FBI joining the investigation.
Wednesday’s tragedy adds to the grim list of school-related shootings in the United States, where debates over gun reform remain locked in political stalemate despite the country’s persistent scourge of firearm violence.