 "Two children killed, 17 injured in mass shooting at Minneapolis Catholic School; shooter dead")
At least two children were killed and 17 others injured in a mass shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis on Wednesday during a church service marking the first week of the academic year, according to a CNN report, citing police.
The suspected shooter is dead, added the report, citing law enforcement officials.
Authorities described the attack as a “deliberate act of violence.”
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara told a media briefing that the shooter, in his early twenties, sprayed bullets into the Annunciation Church as dozens of students were at Mass to celebrate their first week back to school.
The church sits next to an affiliated school in the south of the city, the largest in the state of Minnesota.
“Two young children, ages eight and 10, were killed where they sat in the pews,” AFP quoted O’Hara as saying, adding that 17 others were injured, including 14 children.
Two were in critical condition, he said.
The gunman fired a rifle, shotgun and pistol before he took his own life in the parking lot, according to the police chief.
Earlier, the Minneapolis city government said the shooter was “contained” shortly after the incident and emphasised there is no ongoing threat to the public.
Governor Walz, in a post on social media platform X, said he had been briefed on the situation.
“I’m praying for our kids and teachers whose first week of school was marred by this horrific act of violence,” Walz wrote on X.
Students were being evacuated from Annunciation School following the shooting, according an Associated Press report, citing a staff member who answered the phone Wednesday morning.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsA spokesperson for Hennepin Healthcare, which has Minnesota’s largest emergency department, said in a text message that it was actively dealing with an emergency and provided no additional details. A social media post from the company said it was caring for patients from the shooting.
Meanwhile, 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.
Annunciation School, which serves pre-kindergarten through eighth grade students, dates back to 1923. According to its website, an all-school Mass had been scheduled for 8:15 am Wednesday.
The academic year began just two days earlier, and social media posts from Monday showed students in green uniforms reuniting outside the school, smiling and chatting at bicycle racks.
The incident adds to a wave of violence in Minneapolis over the past 24 hours. On Tuesday afternoon, one person was killed and six others injured in a shooting outside a local high school. Later that night, two more people were killed in separate shootings elsewhere in the city.
With inputs from agencies
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