The leaders of the Catholic School of Minneapolis, Minnesota (United States), where two children were killed during a mass shooting on Wednesday said the school will remain closed for the moment, while the community faces the “inconceivable” fatal made.
The shooting occurred during the school mass at the Church Annunciation in Minneapolis on August 27. The attacker, identified as Robin Westman, 23, born Robert Westman, shot with a rifle through the stained glass windows of the church, killing the two children and hurting almost 20 children and adults, before suicide.
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The attack generated world owners and unleashed sentences and support samples from leaders such as Pope Leo XIV and the president of the United States, Donald Trump.
In A Facebook post on Wednesday nightthe director of the Catholic School Annunciation, Matthew Deboer, and the pastor, P. Dennis Zehren, described the crisis as an “impossible situation.”
“No word can capture what we have lived, what we are living and what we will live in the next few days and weeks,” they wrote. “But we will face this, together.”
The leaders indicated that the school would remain closed at least for the rest of the week and possibly for a longer time. “While we process and sail this inconceivable time together, we will be in contact this weekend regarding when classes will resume,” they said.
The statement said that the police authorities are still doing “essential works” on the school campus, located several kilometers south of the center of Minneapolis.
The families of the parish will have access to support services, they added.
“In this time of darkness, let’s commit to being the light for our children, one for others and for our community,” said the message. “We will rebuild our future full of hope, together.”
After the shooting, Pope Leo XIV sent his “condolences and the security of his spiritual closeness” to the victims, while Catholic bishops and leaders from all over the country also asked for prayers and support for the school community.
The mortal shooting occurred after Minnesota bishops had implored state legislators to grant security funds for non -public local schools.
Those requests from the bishops arose after the shootings in Robb primary school in Uvalde, Texas, and in the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee.
The prelates had argued that the students of Catholic schools and other non -public should receive the same level of protection as their pairs of public schools, although the bills in that sense stagnated in the state legislature.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Press team. Originally published in CNA.
Daniel Payne
Daniel Payne is a senior editor of Catholic News Agency. He previously worked at College Fix and Just the News. He lives in Virginia with his family.