Two children aged eight and 10 have been killed, and 17 other people were injured after a gunman opened fire on schoolchildren who were attending Mass at a Minneapolis Catholic school, authorities said.
The city’s police chief says that of the 17 people injured in the deadly Wednesday morning attack, 14 are children, and that two of them are currently in critical condition. Authorities have not yet discerned a motive in the attack and say the suspected gunman, armed with a rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol, took his own life.
“This was a deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshipping,” Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said during a press conference. “The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible.”
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Police say that the assailant was in his 20s and does not appear to have had an extensive criminal history. Dozens of rounds were fired during the attack, during which the gunman, dressed in black clothing, stood outside of the church firing in through the windows as schoolchildren were seated in the pews.
“I’m praying for our kids and teachers whose first week of school was marred by this horrific act of violence,” Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said in a social media post.
Children’s Minnesota, a local hospital system, said it admitted at least five children.
“I was shocked. I said, ‘There’s no way that could be gunfire,’” Bill Bienemann, who lives nearby and has long attended Mass at Annunciation Church, where the shooting took place, told the news agency Associated Press.
“There was so much of it. It was sporadic.”
US President Donald Trump said he had been briefed on the shooting, describing it as a “terrible situation”.
“I have been fully briefed on the tragic shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.
“The FBI quickly responded, and they are on the scene. The White House will continue to monitor this terrible situation. Please join me in praying for everyone involved!”
Two children killed after gunman fires into US Catholic school