Minneapolis church shooting

Archbishop Bernard Hebda encouraged the St. Paul-Minneapolis faithful to be "beacons of light" one year after a fatal shooting during an all-school Mass at Annunciation School and Church in Minneapolis.

The memories of Aug. 27, 2025, are painful for Molly and Matt Stommes. "On the days where I feel the saddest and low, I do have a lot of hope for our future, and I know that God has a plan for all of us," Molly says.

On the stage of Annunciation Catholic School's auditorium in Minneapolis, Jesse and Mollie Merkel walked to the podium to express their gratitude for the community that filled the space in front of them. Looking out, they saw people who had supported them since day one, Jesse Merkel said.

Getting to know more deeply the people of Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis since a fatal shooting Aug. 27 during an all-school Mass has made clear how important prayer has been in keeping them together, Archbishop Bernard Hebda said Dec. 6.

 "Jesus said, in this world, you will have burdens, but I have come to help you to overcome the burdens," Fr. Dennis Zehren said.

Part 2 of NCR's three-part series examines the experience of the Annunciation community after the Aug. 27 shooting at the school's church in Minneapolis, and how parents began to navigate trauma and sought healing.

In the darkest minutes and in the long days after a shooter killed two children and injured more than 20 people, prayer, fellowship and the simple presence of one another has comforted families.

A 12-year-old who was shot in the head during an attack at a Minneapolis Catholic church in August was released from the hospital and greeted with cheers as the police chief paraded her around town in a limousine.

Annunciation families demanding change include Malia Kimbrell, who during a news conference Sept. 14 at Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis urged local lawmakers to fund mental health support, improve measures on background checks and place an immediate ban on semi-automatic rifles and high-capacity magazines. Kimbrell's daughter, Vivian St. Clair, was among the children wounded in the Aug. 27 shooting.

Executive Editor James Grimaldi reflects a journalist's work in 2025, in the aftermath of horrendous video of Charlie Kirk's murder, and a school shooting that hit close to home for National Catholic Reporter staff.

Fr. Thomas Reese asks: Do we worship semiautomatic weapons so much that we are willing to sacrifice our youth so that we can own weapons whose only purpose is to slaughter people?

America's unwillingness to confront our cultural love affair with guns is difficult to fathom. It is like an addiction: It doesn't make sense from the outside but quitting is so hard to do.

Lying in an intensive care unit hospital bed, 11-year-old Genevieve Bisek is comforted by the many handmade cards she has received from fellow classmates after Wednesday's shooting at a Minneapolis church.

As if the slaughter of children amid screams and shattered stained glass wasn't cause enough for grief, American opinion makers were convulsed once again this week in a debate over the role of prayer in the wake of a mass shooting, this time at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis.

While many school leaders have become resigned to the necessity of preparing for potential school shootings, it was shocking to Catholics across the country to learn of an attack while students were gathered for worship.

Parish celebrates the first weekend Mass -- a "humble beginning," the pastor called it -- since the attack Aug. 27 that killed two elementary school students, wounded 15 others and three adults.

"The voice of weapons must be silenced, while the voice of fraternity and justice must rise," Pope Leo XIV said.

Despite the horror carried out Aug. 27 by a shooter whose journal entries detail weeks of preparation and a fixation on harming children, stories of bravery and tragedy have emerged as families share their accounts. 

The archbishops of Chicago and Detroit echoed the prayers and condolences of fellow bishops, but also called for action to rein in gun violence in America. The bishops' conference statement fell short of its earlier strong advocacy.

"The community that was there put aside differences and helped one another," said Bishop Kevin Kenney.

Robin Westman left behind writings that "expressed hate towards almost every group imaginable." But police found no clear motive for the attack on the church Westman once attended. 

The mysterium iniquitatis, the mystery of evil, revealed itself Wednesday morning in a leafy Minneapolis neighborhood, not just lawlessness, but evil, writes NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters.

People can donate online to support the Church of the Annunciation and its school. 

Maxwell Kuzma reflects on the apparent trans identity of the Annunciation shooter, what it means for the trans community and what allies can do.

A security expert told OSV News that parishes and churches can take several key steps to reduce the threat of attacks such as the deadly Aug. 27 shooting during a school Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis.

The vigil came hours after two children were shot and killed and 17 others injured during Mass on the third day of classes at Annunciation School. The school's motto for this year is "A future filled with HOPE!"

"They're safe. They're upset, but they're safe": Parents of children who survived the shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church spoke about finding their kids at the scene Aug. 27 in Minneapolis.

Law enforcement officials identified the assailant in the shooting at Annunciation Church as Robin Westman, a 23-year-old Minneapolis resident who left behind a racist and antisemitic manifesto on social media.

"We need an end to gun violence," St. Paul and Minneapolis Archbishop Bernard Hebda said in a statement.

 Shooting at the opening Mass for Annunciation Catholic School in south Minneapolis, also wounds 17. The assailant died by suicide behind the church, police said. 

Editorial: We are better than having to send our children — our children! — off to school each day, knowing that any person can walk in with an assault weapon and annihilate them.