As they prepared for the fall semester, leaders at Annunciation Catholic School in South Minneapolis settled on a theme for the year from Jeremiah 29: "A future filled with hope."

• But just three days into the school year, a spray of bullets through a stained glass window thrust them into every educator's — and parent's — worst nightmare.

What happened: Two young students were killed and another 14 children and three adults were hurt yesterday when a shooter opened fire during a morning Mass meant to mark the start of school.

• The slain children, ages 8 and 10, were sitting in the pews.

"There's nothing about today that can fill us with hope," principal Matthew DeBoer said.

The big picture: The attack was one of the worst acts of gun violence targeting a Minnesota school in decades.

• The shooting shocked the nation and the world, with Pope Leo XIV issuing a statement via a spokesperson sending "his heartfelt condolences" to the Twin Cities.

What they're saying: "This was a deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshiping," Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said at a press conference yesterday morning. "The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible."

• The shooter, identified by authorities as 23-year-old Robin Westman, approached Annunciation Catholic just before 8:30am and shot through the side windows of the church.

Zoom in: The injured students ranged from ages 6 to 15, and the three adults were in their 80s. All are expected to survive, O'Hara said.

Amid the heartbreak, there were stories of heroism. Weston Halsne, a fifth grader at the school, described to WCCO diving under the pews as bullets flew through the windows just feet away.

• He said a friend, who was injured by the gunfire, saved him by laying on top of him.

Parents and law enforcement credited school leaders for saving more lives by locking doors and moving children to safety.

The bottom line: "We as a community have a responsibility to make sure that no child, no parent, no teacher, ever has to experience what we've experienced today ever again," DeBoer pleaded in an afternoon news conference.

• "We can't change the past, but we can do something about the future."

"Don't just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now. These kids were literally praying. It was the first week of school. They were in a church. These are kids that should be learning with their friends. They should be playing on the playground. They should be able to go to school or church in peace without the fear or risk of violence."

Authorities say they are still investigating a possible motive for the shooter, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the rear of the church.

What we know: The shooter, dressed in black, was armed with a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol, and had purchased the weapons legally recently, O'Hara said.

• Investigators are reviewing videos they believe the shooter posted online that "included some disturbing writings," O'Hara said.
• The posts, which have been taken down, show guns and ammunition, antisemitic, racist and violent language, and hostile references to Christianity and President Trump, per multiple outlets.

According to Dakota County Court records, the shooter's mother applied to have her child's name changed to Robin M. Westman because her child "identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification."

• That detail stirred hateful online posts toward transgender people, which the mayor condemned.
• "Anybody who is using this as an opportunity to villainize our trans community, or any other community out there, has lost their sense of common humanity," he said.

While authorities said yesterday they were still looking into whether the shooter had a connection to the school, Westman appears in a 2017 Annunciation yearbook and their mother once worked at the church, per the Star Tribune.

Our story from the scene

The attack at Annunciation came at the end of a deadly 24 hours in Minneapolis, as police responded to three separate fatal shootings that occurred between Tuesday evening and early Wednesday morning.

• Many Minneapolis police officers "are deeply traumatized by what they saw" at these scenes, O'Hara told reporters. "Obviously, this has been the most difficult."

Stunning stat: The shooting at Annunciation left a greater total number of victims dead or injured (19) than any other single incident of gun violence in Minnesota going back at least a decade, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive.

• The most recent incident that saw comparable totals of deaths and injuries was the 2021 shooting at the crowded Seventh Street Truck Park bar in St. Paul.

Gov. Tim Walz told reporters President Trump and senior administration officials called to "express their deep condolences" and offer support.

What we're watching: Whether yesterday's attack stirs new questions about how K-12 campuses ensure safety, especially with many Minnesota public school students preparing to return after the holiday weekend.

This summer, bookended by tragedies, has been a nightmare for Minnesota.

• "It is traumatic," Walz told the Star Tribune. "I think this is a state where any of these shootings is too many, but I think something like the assassination of Melissa and Mark [Hortman] and now this just unimaginable killing children in their pew."

"There shouldn't be words for these types of incidents," the governor added at a press conference, "because they should not happen."