Annunciation School shooting: Two children killed ‘where they sat in the pews,’ chief said

MINNEAPOLIS — Police are on the scene of an active shooting in Minneapolis that has left several children wounded.

KARE said a gunman opened fire at Annunciation Catholic School.

‘Killed where they sat in the pews’

Update 11:56 a.m. ET, Aug. 27: Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said there are “families with deceased children” during a morning news conference.

“These kids were literally praying. It was the first week of school. They were in a church,” when the shooting happened, Frey said.

“This kind of act of evil should never happen, and it happens far too often,” Frey said as he finished his comments.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the mass inside the church was “marking the first week of school.”

He confirmed that the gunman was shooting through the windows, hitting children and worshippers who were inside.

The gunman was armed with three guns - a shotgun, a rifle and a handgun.

Two children, aged 8 and 10, were “killed where they sat in the pews.” Seventeen others were hurt, 14 were children and two of those children were in critical condition.

The gunman “took his own life” at the back of the church, O’Hara said.

When asked about the gunman, O’Hara said he was in his early 20s with no “extensive” criminal history. They are looking for a motive. It is not known if the gunman had been a student at the school, the chief said.

The children were taken to the school, where they were being reunited with their parents.

There were reports of explosives, but O’Hara said there were no explosives found at the scene other than what he described as a smoke bomb or a firework left outside of the building.

O’Hara believes the gunman fired all three weapons during the rampage. He also said that no shell casings have yet been found inside the church.

6 children at Children’s Minnesota hospital

Update 11:50 a.m. ET, Aug. 27: A spokesperson with Children’s Minnesota hospital said the facility is treating six children, NBC News reported.

ABC News had reported that at least five children were being treated there.

Hennepin Healthcare said it was caring for several victims as well.

“Children’s Minnesota is aware of the recent tragic shooting in Minneapolis. Our teams are trained to respond in times of crisis, and are fully prepared to care for impacted children,” the hospital said in a statement to NBC News. “We will not share more details to respect the privacy of our patients and families.”

A man who lives near the school said he heard 30 to 50 rounds shot over “several minutes,” CNN reported.

“I was on a call, all the windows of our home were open. I know what gunfire sounds like and, and, I could tell. I was shocked. I said there’s no way that that could be gunfire. There was so much of it,” Bill Bienemann told KARE.

3 dead, including gunman

Update 11:19 a.m. ET, Aug. 27: The Department of Justice said that three people, including the shooter, were dead, Reuters reported.

Children treated

Update 11:14 a.m. ET, Aug. 27: A Minneapolis hospital said it is caring for five children who were hurt in the shooting, The Associated Press reported.

Self-inflicted

Update 11:05 a.m. ET, Aug. 27: CNN and ABC News are reporting that the gunman died from a self-inflicted gunshot.

Police: 20 victims

Update 11 a.m. ET, Aug. 27: Richfield police said there are approximately 20 victims, both KARE and KMSP reported.

Police said the alleged gunman was dressed in all black and was armed with a rifle, KMSP reported.

Minneapolis police have not released a number of victims, KMSP reported.

Parent describes scene

Update 10:55 a.m. ET, Aug. 27: A parent who was inside the church for Mass when the shooting happened said that children were in the pews when the shooter opened fire outside the building.

The parent, who did not want his name shared, told the Star Tribune, “He just pepper-sprayed through the stained-glass windows into the building, 50 to 100 shots.”

“This is terrible,” the parent told the newspaper. ”This is evil. I don’t know how you defend against this.”

Gunman dead: reports

Update: 10:51 a.m. ET, Aug. 27: City officials said that the “shooter is contained,” but did not give any specifics.

Original report: KMSP reported that sources told them that the alleged gunman is dead.

Families of children who were at the school were told to meet at a reunification zone at the school.

The first day of school was this week, according to the school’s Instagram page.

Some of the victims may be children, according to the news station.

The Associated Press reported that children were being evacuated from the building. The school, which has Pre-K through eighth grade, was scheduled to have an all-school Mass at 8:15 a.m. Wednesday morning.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said he has been briefed on the incident.

President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that he has been briefed on the situation.

Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are responding, according to a post on the agency’s X page.

The FBI has agents en route to the scene, according to FBI Director Dan Bongino.

There were three deadly shootings in the city over 12 hours, the Minneapolis Police Department said.

The department said in a news release before the school shooting, “The level of gun violence across the city within the last day is deeply unsettling. Across three separate multiple-victim shootings, eight people have been injured by gunfire and three have lost their lives,” NBC News reported.

The shooting at Annunciation was the fourth deadly shooting in less than 24 hours.

Check back for more on this developing story.

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