The school year in Minneapolis had barely begun when tragedy struck.
A gunman dressed in black opened fire on children attending mass at a Catholic school on Wednesday.
He killed two young students — just eight and 10 years old — and injured 17 others. He then took his own life.
Police say the man, in his early 20s, sprayed dozens of bullets through church windows as students sat quietly in the pews.
“The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible.”
Minneapolis’ police chief said, his voice heavy with disbelief.
Annunciation Catholic School, a private elementary with nearly 400 students, had only reopened two days earlier.
Parents rushed to the scene, some ducking under yellow tape as they led terrified children away.
Local TV showed chapel doors crudely barricaded from the outside — chilling evidence of the chaos.
Who’s The Suspect?
Authorities confirmed the shooter was armed with a rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol.
A smoke bomb was also found, along with a vehicle under investigation in the school’s parking lot.
Investigators are now combing through online videos that may have been posted by the gunman.
As the community mourns, one painful question lingers: how many more school years must begin this way?
