What was meant to be a sacred morning of prayer turned into horror on Wednesday, August 27, when gunfire shattered the peace at Annunciation Catholic School and Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The Attack
At around 8:15 a.m., as students, teachers, and parishioners gathered for a back-to-school Mass, a gunman dressed in black opened fire from outside the church. Witnesses described scenes of chaos—screams, shattered glass, and children diving for cover in the pews. Within minutes, the sanctuary became a site of unthinkable tragedy.
According to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, the shooter’s bullets killed two young children, ages 8 and 10, right where they sat. Seventeen others were wounded, 14 of them children—two in critical condition. Families who had just dropped off their kids for the first week of school were suddenly running back, desperate for answers, only to be met with the flashing lights of dozens of emergency vehicles.
A City Shaken
By 10:31 a.m. EST, nearby Richfield Police confirmed an active shooter situation and a mass casualty response. Law enforcement swarmed the scene, fire crews rushed to help, and hospitals prepared for the influx of young victims. Hours later, officials confirmed the gunman—described only as a man in his early 20s—took his own life, and the immediate threat was over.
Governor Tim Walz shared on X (formerly Twitter): “I’m praying for our kids and teachers whose first week of school was marred by this horrific act of violence.” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called it a “day of heartbreak the city will never forget.”
FBI: Domestic Terrorism
By the afternoon, the FBI announced it is investigating the massacre as an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics. FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed agents are reviewing the shooter’s background and motives, including online activity that suggested deep anti-religious resentment.
A Dark Pattern
This tragedy comes just one day after another Minneapolis school shooting—at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School on Tuesday, August 26—where one man was killed and six others injured. Two school shootings in two days have left the city reeling, parents terrified, and faith leaders demanding answers.
A Community in Mourning
Vigils are already being planned across Minneapolis, with churches opening their doors for prayer. Strangers are leaving flowers, teddy bears, and handwritten notes outside Annunciation Catholic Church in memory of the children whose lives were stolen.
💔 Two children never made it home from school. Dozens more will carry scars—seen and unseen—for the rest of their lives. Minneapolis is left to grieve, to pray, and to ask: how many more sanctuaries must be shattered before the violence ends?