A gunman took the life of at least 2 students and injured 17 other people in an attack Wednesday on a morning mass at a Catholic school in southern Minneapolis, according to police.
The shooter, who had barricaded the church door, then killed himself. The 20-year-old suspect was dressed in black and carrying a rifle, pistol and shotgun, officials said.
The children killed in the attack were 8 and 10 years old. At least four children remain in critical condition, according to the chief of emergency medicine at one of the three hospitals treating victims.
“Don’t just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now, these kids were literally praying,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said during an afternoon press conference. “It was the first week of school. They were in a church.”
Here’s what we know about the incident:
Some children remain in critical condition
The chief of emergency medicine at the Hennepin County Medical Center said 11 people had been admitted to the hospital after the shooting, including seven who were in critical condition. He said four required an operating room, all children.
Of the 17 victims, 14 were children, according to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara.
Children’s Minnesota, a pediatric trauma hospital, said in a statement that six children were admitted for care. Their condition was not immediately known.
Some victims were also brought to the M Health Fairview Masonic Children’s Hospital.
Shooter opened fire in middle of morning mass
The shooter, who has not been identified by police, initially opened fire through a window as children were in pews praying, then entered the church and fired all three firearms he was carrying, O’Hara said.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said her longtime employee had three children that attended the school, during an interview on MSNBC.
“These kids are doing an all-school Mass and had to watch several of her friends get shot — one in the back, one in the neck,” Klobuchar told the outlet. “And they all got down under the pews and she — her daughter, of course, was not shot — but her daughter ended up being the one to tell one of the dads of one of the other kids that his daughter had been shot.”
A man who lived two blocks from the school described hearing 30 to 50 shots fired over several minutes.
“There was so much of it,” Bill Bienemann said, describing the shots as “sporadic.”
“It was so, it was semiautomatic, it seemed like a rifle. Certainly didn’t sound like handgun and so he must’ve reloaded you know several times for sure,” he said.
Many questions as investigation underway
Police say they are still unsure of the motive behind the crime, which O’Hara called “incomprehensible.”
He said they would be looking through information “left behind” to help uncover why the gunman targeted Annunciation Church, including the vehicle he arrived in.
Investigators said they did not know if the shooter was a former employee or alumnus of the school.
Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) were some of the first responders to the scene and have started tracing protocol for the firearms used in the shooting.
FBI Director Kash Patel said agents were on the scene soon after the incident.
Follows spate of shootings in Minneapolis
The school shooting occurred within 24 hours of another mass shooting in Minneapolis around 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
One person was killed and six more were injured when a gunman fired dozens of shots at a group of people on a sidewalk across from Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, authorities said.
The gunman in that attack used a high-velocity rifle, police said.
“This level of firepower unleashed in broad daylight is completely sickening and unacceptable,” O’Hara said of that shooting. The suspect, as of Wednesday afternoon, is still being sought by police.
Two more people were killed in two separate shootings later in the day.
One of those incidents occurred about a mile from the first shooting, leaving a man in his 20s dead.
At 2:10 a.m. on Wednesday, police said a gunman approached a group on the sidewalk and started shooting, killing one man and injuring another, according to CBS News.
It was unclear if the shootings were related, police said.
The incident also comes just months after former state House Speaker Melissa Hortman (D) and her husband Mark were killed in a fatal shooting in the city.
