10:00 a.m. in Minneapolis. It's uh 4:00
p.m. here in the UK. You're watching Sky
News Today and we're beginning this hour
with breaking news coming out of the
United States. There has been a shooting
at a Catholic primary school in the city
of Minneapolis. It's understood the
person who uh has responsible for this
shooting has been contained as it's
reported there is no active threat to
the community. Within just the last few
minutes, President Trump has posted onto
his social media site, Truth Social. I
have been fully briefed on the tragic
shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The
FBI quickly responded, and they are on
the scene. The White House will continue
to monitor this situation, he writes.
Please join me in praying for everyone
involved. And just a short time ago, we
heard from a man who was close to the
school at the time of the shooting.
>> My daughter here went to school here
>> for 9 years.
>> Yep. And uh we've gone to church here
for many many years. So I don't know who
I've got people contacting me that you
know I'm limited as to exactly what I
know. But uh so we we know people I have
friends that know people who have been
shot. So
>> the survivor who described the wood
being blown around stem
>> what's that now
being kind of blown off around them.
Remind me how you know them.
>> So I didn't know him. Uh
>> this gentleman goes to morning mass
every day of the week and he usually
goes to the basilica.
>> He just happened to go here randomly
>> and this is what happened.
>> And you talked to him as he came out.
>> Yeah. All the parents were on the uh if
you've never been in there, there's a
right and left and there's a an aisle in
between. So all the parents were on the
left side and so he was on the left
side. So there was must have been
sporadic gunfire uh going on. He he said
it looked like a just a normal Sunday
mass. So it was full, you know, of
people and children. So
>> And how did he get out? He just ran, you
know, when this fire and he said it
seemed like it went on for eternity, but
when it stopped, he just he ran out of
the building.
>> When did you first hear about this?
>> So, I we live about two blocks from
here. Uh I was on a call. All the
windows of our home were open. I know
what gunfire sounds like. And uh and I
could tell I I was shocked. I I I said,
"There's no way that that could be
gunfire. There was so much of it." So,
it was sporadic. was so it was a
semi-automatic. It seemed like a rifle.
It certainly didn't sound like a handgun
and uh and so uh he must have reloaded,
you know, several times for sure.
>> Do you remember about how many gunshots?
>> I I I I'll just say maybe 30 to 50 to,
you know, somewhere in that area. Do
>> you recall about how long
>> the fire went on?
>> Yeah.
>> For uh I would say
several minutes. I mean 3 minutes or no
four I mean which is a long time for
live gunfire. I mean that's a long time.
You can wrap off a lot of shots.
Well, that was an eyewitness who, as we
heard, lives not far from this school,
reporting that he heard what sounded
like semi-automatic fire, saying it
didn't sound like a handgun, and uh it
sounds as if the individual may have
reloaded because the firing, the sound
of the gunfire that he heard from his
home, he said his windows are open was
sporadic. He said the fire went on for
several minutes. and uh finishing that
interview given to to local media there
was saying you can fire a lot of bullets
in that time. Uh now he was also spoken
to this individual who lives not far
from the Annunciation Catholic School
alongside his daughter who also spoke uh
to the media there. Let's take a listen
to what she had to say.
This was their first day of all school
mass. Uh so they have mass once a week
on Wednesdays. And um basically the way
that it's set up is children and staff,
they sit on the right side of the
church. Then parents and other visitors
who are just dropping in for mass, they
sit on the left side.
>> Um masses for an hour. And I guess it
sounds like this happened at around 8:20
and the mass starts at around 8.
>> So it would have been during mass.
>> Yes.
>> How long did you attend school here?
>> For 9ine years. uh kindergarten through
8th grade. I was done at annunciation in
2018.
>> Yeah, I did speak with a survivor.
>> Have you talked to any uh classmates or
friends about that?
>> Yes. Yes. And um my best friend, her mom
was about to go to mass, but then they
like something came up and they didn't
go. So, I know a lot of people
everyone's kind of connected right now
in the community and is talking about
this.
>> Have you heard about um victims or
>> Not specifically, but I've heard there
have been several fatalities. It It
breaks my heart. makes me sick to my
stomach knowing that there's probably
people I know that were either injured
or maybe they were even killed. Um it
doesn't make me feel safe at all with
this community that I've been a part of
for so long. So it it me and my friends
were talking like this is like our
version of 9/11 because we didn't grow
up during 9/11. So this is like this
with our community that's what it feels
like.
>> You can hear there the uh pain and fear
in the community. uh of the Annunciation
Catholic School uh in the hours after a
shooting began at the uh uh preschool to
grade 8, so primary school facility
there in the southwest of the US city of
Minneapolis. At this stage, uh police,
the city officials are telling us that
the individual responsible for the
attack has been contained. Uh whether
that means that they are trapped within
the school building, it's unclear at
this stage, but officials have reported
that uh the wider community are no
longer at risk and that they think that
the the shooter is contained within the
school. Now, um we heard there from that
eyewitness who alongside her father
overheard the shooting as it began
earlier this morning reporting that it
was uh during or just shortly after an
all schools mass had begun. The school's
website report that uh a mass uh was due
to be held at quarter 8 uh in the
morning. So, a couple of hours ago, it's
day three of the new school term at the
Annunciation Catholic School and an old
school mass was to be held at quarter 8.
Now, we are also being told now from
Henipin Healthcare, a local health care
provider in Minneapolis, that they are
to be giving an update at 10:15 to 11:15
uh Eastern, uh on those who have been
injured as a result of this. The
eyewitness there that we had just heard
from saying that she believes that
several people have been injured. her
father who spoke just uh just just
before her saying that he had had
semi-automatic fire didn't think it was
a hang gun and that the fire had gone on
for several minutes. Well, our David
Blevens is in is in Washington DC. He's
covering this for us state side. Uh so
David, look, we're we're waiting on that
update from Hannipin Healthcare to get a
a sense of uh the scale of this, whether
or not um there are multiple casualties
as has been reported, their current
condition, and also of course we will be
awaiting any news of the shooter who
officials say is contained.
>> Yes, we're also just hearing Kamali from
the mayor's office. Jacob Frey is the
mayor of Minneapolis saying that he too
will hold a news conference at 11:30
a.m. Eastern time. So um perhaps that is
a joint press conference that's going to
take place when we will receive more
details related to this shooting. Right
now the details are fairly um sparse. We
do know that the shooting took place at
Annunciation Catholic School or perhaps
in the neighboring church because it's
all on one site. That's what we
understand. And there was, as you say, a
mass taking place this morning at around
8:15 and uh eyewitnesses are reporting
the gunfire at around 8:20. Now, the
children only returned to school on
Monday of this week. So, it's the worst
possible beginning to their school year.
This is a school that serves students
from preschool to 8th grade. So, the
equivalent of uh primary school in the
United uh uh kingdom. And I can just um
bring you an update uh Kamali from the
Justice Department here in the United
States. They are saying that three
people have died in this shooting and
that 20 have been injured. That's coming
from Reuters, attributing it to the
Justice Department here in um
Washington. So they are reporting that
three people have died at that shooting
in the Minneapolis Catholic School and
that 20 have been injured. This is the
fourth shooting in the city of
Minneapolis in the space of 12 hours. uh
the local police department describing
uh the level of violence there as deeply
uh concerning in recent days. And as you
can see, there is a major police
operation continuing uh despite uh the
fact that uh the city of Minneapolis
says the shooter has now been contained
and there is no longer an active threat.
That they continue just to deal with the
aftermath of what happened there this
morning. And it certainly is very
concerning to listen to those reports
from eyewitnesses who talk about what
they believe was semi-automatic gunfire
for a prolonged period of time uh in a
building where there were children uh
attending mass it would seem in the uh
early this morning.
Yes, just to reiterate that news, uh, as
David's been reporting, coming from the
Reuters news agency, three people dead
at the shooting at the Enunciation
Catholic School in Minneapolis.
According to Justice Department
officials being reported by the Reuters
news agency and uh NBC are uh the team
in the United States are now reporting
that the gunman involved has died from a
selfinflicted
gunshot wound. That's according to three
law enforcement officials who uh we can
report are familiar with the
investigation. That's NBC reporting. The
gunman has died from a self-inflicted
gunshot wound following this uh shooting
at the Enunciation Catholic School. We
think during mass. Now we are looking at
live picture here from um outside the
school. Uh we could see that what looked
like the evacuation of some school
children there perhaps being taken out
of school. This is a um a pre
kindergarten to 8th grade school. to a
primary school in British terms where a
shooting uh took place during an all
school mass which began at 8:15. The
Justice Department according to the
Reuters News Agency reporting that three
people have been dead at this shooting,
20 people injured. An NBC uh our
partners in the United States reporting
that the gunman has died from a
self-inflicted gunshot wound. The
President Donald Trump has said that he
is monitoring the situation. The FBI are
on their way to the scene. Now, let's
bring back in our US correspondent,
David Blevins. So, David, uh perhaps
some clarity there as to what was meant
when uh it was said that the gunman was
contained. Our uh partners in the United
States NBC saying that the uh according
to three law enforcement officials that
are familiar with the investigation, the
wound.
>> Yes. Perhaps more detail will uh be made
available in the next 15 or 20 minutes.
We understand a press conference will
take place when officials uh will report
on the events at Annunciation Catholic
Church and school uh this morning. We
knew the gravity of the situation really
uh from the words being posted online by
the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey,
who described it as a horrific act of
violence. Then the governor uh who has
been um also posting online his concerns
about uh those uh parents and their
children who are dealing with this and
and then the secretary of homeland uh
security in the United States Christine
Gnome who described it as as a heinous
attack and the president himself having
been fully informed and kept a breast of
developments there. So whenever you are
hearing from the governor and from the
secretary of homeland security and from
the president himself, you know that it
has been a serious situation and we are
now hearing uh from officials at the
justice department that three people
have died and uh our colleagues at NBC
here in the United States are reporting
that the gunman has died also from a
self-inflicted gunshot wound. So,
another um mass shooting incident in the
United States to add to the long list of
mass shooting incidents in the United
States, a nation that continues to be
paralyzed by the debate over the right
to bear arms uh uh versus gun crime here
in the city of Minneapolis itself. This
is the fourth deadly shooting in the
space of just 12 hours, something the
police department there had already been
expressing a grave concern about. And in
this case, it is a shooting that appears
to have been witnessed by very young
children, primary school age children
who it would seem were attending mass
with their parents this morning uh when
this attack took place.
>> Yeah. And all ages, all years mass at
quarter 8 in the morning in the first
week back at school for these kids at
the Annunciation Catholic school as you
say, David, a primary school. uh and
that reporting now that three people
have been killed. We believe that
includes uh the gunman as well as 20
people injured. We are awaiting that uh
news conference update from uh the city
as well as from health officials. Due in
the next few minutes, of course, we will
bring it to you as soon as uh we we get
it here on Sky News. Expect it will be a
live event. It's due in as I say quarter
uh the hour. It is quarter past the hour
now, but as you can imagine in
Minneapolis, things are moving pretty
quickly, so unsurprising if those
timings slip. We're looking at these
live pictures here. You can see
foreground an FBI agent and in the uh
background there what looks to be a
young family perhaps children who have
been evacuated from the school uh with
uh their car as their parents uh leaving
what will have been uh a terrifying
terrifying situation for anyone not
least a young person to have had to
witness uh during their first week back
at school. the first week back at school
and again gun violence uh a plague as
David was saying uh in the United States
afflicting them this time these children
at the Annunciation Catholic Primary
School. Now, David, in these situations,
you've covered these stories before, as
have I, the question will turn to the
right to bear arms, the amount of guns
in the United States. And just having a
look at the rules in Minnesota. We know
that in some states there is a right to
carry, a right to open carry. Minnesota
as a state is described as a shall issue
state. That means that a license can be
issued, must be issued if an individual
meets the requirements. One of those
requirements is that they're over 21.
They've completed an authorized firearms
course. They fill out an application, of
course, and that application is then
processed through uh the county
sheriff's office. I mean, my initial
assessment of that, David, and you can
probably clarify this for me, is that
seems like slightly stricter rules in
terms of getting a gun uh than in many
other states uh in Minnesota.
>> Yes. And that would not be terribly
surprising given that it is a democratic
state where the governor is Tim Waltz
who will be known to many people of
course as Kamla Harris's running mate in
the general election last year. He was
one of the first people to uh post
online in response to the events this
morning expressing his concern for the
children and their parents and saying he
was praying uh for them. I was in uh the
state of Minnesota myself just a few
months ago uh reporting another shooting
when you may remember a Democratic uh
politician, a member of the state
legislator, legislate uh you're there
who was shot dead alongside her husband
um in another act of violence, another
uh politician and his wife survived that
shooting. And as I say, this is the
fourth deadly shooting in the city of
Minneapolis itself in the space of 24
hours. that is going to push the issue
of uh gun violence back onto the agenda.
Not that it's ever very far off the
agenda in the United States when we
think back through recent history how
often uh presidents have vowed to find a
way to address it and yet they have
failed to be able to do so. uh this
school, Annunciation Catholic Church and
School all on uh one site is in a
neighborhood called Tangle Town in the
south of uh of the city and it was there
this morning shortly after um 8:20. The
emergency services responded to reports
of an active shooter. Uh there was a
mass taking place. It takes place every
Wednesday. understand when the pupils
from the school sit on one side, their
parents and other members of the
congregation on another eyewitnesses
report the sound of semi-automatic
gunfire for a prolonged time, 3 to four
minutes, they said, which is indeed a
very long time. And and we were already
aware that it was a very serious
situation because of comments from
people like the governor, like the
mayor, uh like the secretary of homeland
security, all talking about horrific
violence, a heinous attack on this uh
community and the president himself
talking about how quickly the FBI had
responded. that we are now in a position
to say on the basis of what we're
hearing from the Department of Justice
in Washington that two people have been
shot dead and that the uh shooter has uh
taken his own life in this morning's
incident at Annunciation Catholic Church
and School in the city of Minneapolis.
>> Yeah. And once again, uh school
shootings in the headlines in the United
States.
A large number extraordinarily of school
shootings take place in the US. Uh many
will remember uh back to some of the
earliest that were reported on rolling
news um of the shootings in the in the
United States at Colina High School back
in the '9s. And people will also
remember I think uh back in 2022 a
shooting at the Rob Elementary School in
Aalde, Texas. That's a primary school
there. 19 students killed there as well
as two teachers and dozens more injured.
Uh kids in the United States have to go
through active shooter drills. That is a
regular thing that young people kids as
soon as they begin school have to uh be
taught as in many other parts of the
world we're taught about escaping from
fires. Kids in schools in the United
States are frequently taught how to
escape from an active shooter situation.
And this one here at this school in in
Minneapolis, the Annunciation Catholic
uh primary school has now resulted, as
we understand it, officials telling us,
in two people being killed, 20 people
being injured in just the first week of
term, the first week beginning for these
children from preschool up until grade
8. Um and they will now forever remember
their first year back at school in 2025
as a year in which there was a a
shooting as they were celebrating mass
first thing in the morning. Now we are
expecting a news conference from health
officials uh as well as the city mayor.
the city mayor Jacob Frey at around
about half past I would have thought
Jacob Frey is saying that he will speak
at around half past the hour expecting
those medical officials to speak at
quarter past but look there's a
situation in the city so we can
understand why those timings have
slipped. Um obviously this has happened
in the middle of a community. We're
looking at the live pictures now. You
can see uh this school and church campus
surrounded by homes, families living
nearby. Uh and one of those families
nearby spoke to uh journalists in the uh
time just after this shooting. And uh
here's what they had to say.
>> for nine years.
for many, many years. So, I don't know
who I've got people contacting me that,
you know, I'm limited as to exactly what
I know, but uh so we we know people I
have friends that know people who have
been shot. So,
being blown around them.
>> What's that now?
>> The survivor who described the wood
>> So, I didn't know him. Uh, this
gentleman goes to morning mass every day
of the week and he usually goes to the
basilica. Yeah.
>> Yep. All the parents were on the uh if
people and children. So,
>> and how did he get out?
>> He just ran, you know, when this fire,
he said it seemed like it went on for
eternity, but when it stopped, he just
he ran out of the building.
could tell I I was shocked. I I I said
there's no way that that could be
gunfire. There was so much of it. So it
was sporadic. So it was a
It certainly didn't sound like a
handgun. And uh and so uh he must have
reloaded, you know, several times for
sure. Do
>> you remember about how many gunshots? I
I I I'll just say maybe 30 to 50 to you
know somewhere in that area. Do
an individual, Bill, who says he lives
nearby, uh recounting uh what he
experienced from his home as that uh
mass shooting began during mass. He said
that someone who was in there who
managed to get out of the church as the
shooting began. Um that uh it was full.
It was like a Sunday mass. It was an all
years mass at this Catholic primary
school. So you can expect kids from all
across the school which is a primary
school from kindergarten up to grade 8
in that church building celebrating mass
when this shooting began. Now look we're
looking at a live shot here uh from
outside a hospital. We are expecting any
time now actually officials from Henipin
Healthcare a hospital in the uh
Minneapolis uh region in the center of
the city looking at a map here not far
from actually where the school is to
give a news conference with an update on
patients they're treating as we
understand it. Three people have been
killed uh including the gunman uh from a
self-inflicted wound, 20 people injured.
healthcare officials due to update
shortly. We are also expecting to hear
uh in the next hour from the mayor of
Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, who has
described what has happened as tragic uh
saying that uh the situation
uh when he first post on social media uh
that there was no threat to the
community because the shooter had been
contained contained within the school.
We believed we are waiting on officials
from the city and states to speak. Now
uh a congresswoman from uh Minnesota,
Ilhan Omar has posted onto social media
as well in the last few minutes. If you
want to read out uh Miss Omar's tweet,
it reads, "I am beyond heartbroken over
the tragic news of the shooting at
Annunciation Catholic School in
Minneapolis. I am praying for all the
families impacted by this horrific
tragedy. I will continue to closely
monitor the situation and provide
updates. That's just the latest
political reaction that I've seen here
coming from uh Congresswoman for uh Min
Minneapolis Ilhan Omar. We've also of
course heard from the President Donald
Trump who said he's been briefed on the
shooting. Please join me in praying for
everyone involved. Now the witness we
heard from just a short time ago was uh
Bill. His daughter also spoke to the
president. Here's what she had to say.
>> This was their first day of all school
sit on the left side. Um masses for an
hour. And I guess it sounds like this
happened at around 8:20 and mass starts
at around 8.
How long did you attend school here?
>> For 9ine years. Uh, kindergarten through
>> Yeah, I did speak with
friends about?
this. Have you heard about um
>> victims or
>> not specifically, but I've heard there
breaks my heart, makes me sick to my
people I know that are either injured or
maybe they were even killed. Um it
version of 911 because we didn't grow up
during 911. So this is like this with
our community. That's what it feels
>> There of an individual who lives not far
from an initiation Catholic Primary
School. Uh you can uh hear just how
shocked she is that this has happened
within her community. We're continuing
to look here at um the scene there of
hospital where we were expecting to hear
an update from health care officials.
Now told that'll happen at the top of
the hour 1700 uh in the UK. Uh so that
will be 11:00 in the city of
Minneapolis. Also expected to hear from
the mayor of uh Min Minneapolis at half
past uh Jacob Frey. But I would imagine
that they all officials will want to
coordinate when they eventually say
something. So perhaps that will also
slip until the top of the hour. We're
looking there. You can see a microphone
been set up. And I'm sure that when city
officials uh when members of the
authorities are able and willing to
speak, they will be at the microphone
updating the community, updating the
country, updating the world as to what
has happened. Now, the vice president of
the United States, JD Vance, has in the
last few minutes posted onto social
media saying, "We are at the White House
monitoring the situation in Minneapolis.
Join all of us in praying for the
victims." Of course, for prayers from JD
Vance, we've also had that as well from
Donald Trump, as well as every other
politician who has commented on this.
It's the latest shooting at a school in
the United States. Now, reporting from
CNN, which has uh used uh the Gun
Violence Archive, Education Week, and
Every Town for Gun Safety, uh
organizations and charities that work to
reduce gun violence in the United States
say there were there have been so far,
this is this year, 33 school shootings
in the United States so far this year.
That's up to July of this year. The
worst year on record so far for school
shootings is 2024 where there were sorry
where there were been a number of
incidents.
2022 was the deadliest year in terms of
fatalities. There were 83 shootings in
24. 2022 saw the most number of lives
lost with 47 fatalities according to the
analysis. And that was the year that you
may well remember that the shooting
happened at Rob Elementary School in
Abalde, Texas. 19 kids killed then.
Well, our US correspondent David Bleven
is following this for us state side from
Washington DC. Uh let's bring him back
in now. David, look, we're looking at uh
the microphone set up as we're expecting
a news conference from officials. Um and
of course we'll bring that uh to viewers
live as soon as we get it. But at this
stage, uh, that news worth reiterating.
Uh, two people killed, uh, 20 injured
according to officials. The gunman dying
of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, three
in total dead in this incident at
Minneapolis.
>> Yes. So I think just to recap, it is
worth uh reminding people that
Annunciation Catholic School is the
equivalent of a primary school in the
United Kingdom. It serves pupils from
preschool to 8th grade. Uh they returned
to their classrooms on Monday of this
week following the summer break
according to a Facebook post. And they
were attending mass in the neighboring
Annunciation Catholic Church this
morning when this shooting uh took
place. Uh we have had some response in
the last few minutes from two Democratic
senators from Minnesota, Amy Clolobachar
and Tina Smith. In her post online,
Clolobachar writes, "I am heartbroken by
the horrific violence at Enunciation
Catholic School in Minneapolis this
morning. My prayers are with the
students, teachers, and families, and I
am grateful for the first responders who
are on the scene." and Tina Smith posts,
"My staff and I are monitoring the
situation at Annunciation Catholic
School. I'm grateful for the quick
response of law enforcement as we
continue to gather information. It's the
first week of school. These kids should
not be fearing for their lives," she
states. And uh we can see the speed and
the scale of the emergency response to
this latest mass shooting in the United
States. But of course they are
responding to the aftermath of an act of
violence which it seems was carried out
by one person armed with what would
appear to have been a semi-automatic
weapon. According to eyewitnesses, they
say that person uh fired shots for a
considerable period of time. uh during
mass this morning. Uh eyewitnesses say
that this mass that takes place every
Wednesday sees the children seated on
one side of the building, their parents
and other adults on the other side of
the building. So obviously they were
contained within a building at the time
and that places them at greater risk.
But the latest report we have from the
Department of Justice is that two people
are have been killed. uh that the gunman
has died of a self-inflicted wound and
that there are 20 others injured and we
await more detail on that when this
press conference takes place. Uh we're
told within the next half an hour. Yeah,
we uh heard from officials in the city
an individual who came to the microphone
saying that uh as I expected David um
the news conference has been pushed back
a bit as uh they try and make sure that
they have all the information necessary
to uh to brief the media to brief the
public, the community to make it clear
as to where they are at this stage. As
as we know, as you've been reporting,
David, two people have died as a result
of the shooting, 20 injured. the gunman
himself outside of that to make a third
person died of a self-inflicted gun
wound. Now, um Children's the Children's
Minnesota uh pediatric trauma center
have released a statement. It's been
reported by the Associated Press here.
It's part of Henipin Healthcare who we
have been waiting to have an update from
on camera. Um I presume that will happen
as well at the top of the hour. They're
saying that five children have been
admitted for care uh as part of this
shooting. They were also caring for
patients um from the shooting. 20 we are
uh being reporting that have been
injured as a result of this incident
that happened first thing in the morning
at mass in the uh city of Minneapolis at
the Annunciation Catholic School. Um,
two people have been killed. We're
reporting the gunman has died of a
self-inflicted gun wound and it's just
the latest in the number of school
shootings in the United States. There
have been 33 so far this year. Looking
specifically at the state of Minnesota.
Again, using that research that's coming
from CNN, there have been 11 school
shootings in total since 2008.
So in US standards, Minnesota a
relatively low number in terms of school
shooting. But again, uh that sense that
school shootings are a common occurrence
in the United States. Incredibly, that
kids are are taught how to avoid active
shooters when they arrive at school. In
the same way that children in other uh
parts of the world are taught about fire
drills and school safety, kids in the US
have to learn how to hide from a person
who may well enter their school with a
gun. Now, uh Donald Trump, the president
of the United States, has been posting
about this uh in the last half an hour
or so as more details started to emerge.
President Trump wrote on his Truth
Social site, "I have been fully briefed
on the tragic shooting in Minneapolis,
Minnesota. The FBI quickly responded and
they are on the scene." The White House
will continue to monitor this terrible
situation. Please join me in praying for
everyone involved. uh words echoed by JD
Vance who in the last few minutes has
also tweeted that that the White House
is monitoring and uh the situation and
he has called for everyone to join them
all in praying for the victims of this.
So David, let's just recap where we are
at this point and what we understand has
happened. This shooting, mass shooting
School, and we think it began just after
uh 8 this morning as uh the students and
their parents had gathered at the church
for mass.
>> Yes. On the basis of the information
coming to us from various um government
agencies, law enforcement agencies and
eyewitnesses, it is our understanding
that the Annunciation Catholic School
joins the Annunciation Catholic Church
and that on Wednesday morning the
students there join with their parents
and other members of the congregation
for mass. They were attending that
service uh just after 8:00 this morning
when eyewitnesses report the sound of
what they describe as semi-automatic
gunfire for a prolonged period of time.
This was just the third day of the new
school year. So absolute terror for
these primary school age children and
their families and other members of that
uh congregation. But the response has
been uh swift and has been large in
scale. As you can see, the various law
enforcement agencies, SWAT teams, um
ambulance, uh paramedics, all there very
very quickly. But of course, they're
dealing with the aftermath of an act of
violence, a heinous act of violence as
it's been described by the Secretary of
Homeland Security, carried out, it would
seem, by just one person armed with a
weapon. So yet again, we're hearing uh
the thoughts and prayers of a president
and vice president of the United States.
But this is a nation that still appears
paralyzed by the whole debate about the
right to bear arms versus gun crime.
You've been saying Kamali, 33 shootings,
school shootings in the United States
this year, according to the figures,
four deadly shootings in the city of
Minneapolis itself in the space of 12
hours. And all of this comes at a time
when President Trump has been very
publicly expressing his desire to crack
down on crime here in the US capital in
Washington where he has federalized the
police and deployed the National Guard.
Those guardsmen and women now armed as
well. Uh he's talking about doing that
in other places like Chicago and LA. And
yet many people will look to this
incident today and suggest that perhaps
the president needs to refocus and they
will be encouraging him perhaps to
return his attention to the issue of gun
violence particularly uh mass shootings
which continue to take place in schools
across the United States where children
from a very young age even primary
school age. In this school, some of the
children are preschool age at
kindergarten, the equivalent of a
nursery school in the UK, have to be
trained for what to do in the event of
an active shooting. Now, thankfully,
this is no longer an active shooter
scene. uh the gunman has been contained
according to the police and that they
are now dealing with uh the the dreadful
aftermath of another shooting that has
left two people killed at least two
people killed the gunman having having
taken his own life also.
>> Yeah. And David, as you mentioned there,
the thoughts once this situation is
over, once this moment passes for those
affected by it, will clearly turn to gun
ownership, uh, and the number of
firearms in the United States. Now, uh,
Minnesota, as you've been saying, is is
a Democratic state. the governor, Tim
Waltz, a Democrat. Um, and the rules for
owning a firearm in in Minnesota
slightly more restrictive than in many
uh US states. In Minnesota, it's a shall
issue state, which means you have to
essentially apply uh for a permit to
hold a firearm. You must be at least 18.
It's uh was 21 and there is a current
appeal ongoing. uh it's reported here.
Um to try and change that age back to
18, you need to provide proof of having
completed a handgun training course from
a certified instructor. Um and there
must be no legal reason as to why you
should not uh possess a firearm license
under under federal law. So you have to
go through a number of of hoops to get
it, but you can still get that weapon.
Of course, in the United States, the
Second Amendment, the right to bear arms
enshrined in their constitution, and the
reason why there are more weapons in the
United States than there are people.
Now, I I just uh brought you that update
from Children's Minnesota at Children's
Hospital um as part of Hannipin
Healthcare Group who had said that there
were five children being treated.
They're now saying it's six children who
are being treated. Uh they say in a
statement, "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.
Currently, six children are admitted to
our hospital for care. We shall not
share more details to respect the
privacy of our patients and families."
uh Children's Minnesota Children's
Hospital reporting there not far from
Annunciation Catholic Primary School
that they are caring for six kids who
have been injured as a result of this
shooting. Now, we've had some of the
political reaction, haven't we, David,
from the president, from the vice
president, uh from Congress, people,
from the mayor. We are actually viewers,
you're looking at a street there in
Minneapolis. You can see a microphone
set up in the foreground of the picture
there. We're expecting to hear from city
officials, including the mayor, Jacob
Frey, at sometime close to the top of
the hour. So, that'll be 5:00 UK time,
11:00 a.m. in Minneapolis. The senator
for the state of uh Minnesota, Amy
Clolobashar, has told our colleagues at
N MSNBC that one of her employees has
kids at this school. In an interview,
Miss Clolobishar, who was a Democratic
senator for Minnesota, said that these
kids are all doing an all school mass.
As we've said, this is a primary school,
pre kindergarten to grade 8. So, young
children, primary school in British
terms. These kids are doing an all
school mass and had to watch several of
her friends get shot. One in the back,
one in the neck. They all got down under
the pews and she her daughter, that's uh
the daughter of of one of Miss
Clolobashar's employees, uh was not
shot, but her daughter ended up being
the one to tell one of the dads of one
of the kids that his daughter had been
shot. uh the Democratic senator there
Emmy Clolobashar who's one of her
employees has kids at the school three
children at the school reporting what
she has been told by that individual
that this happened during mass as we
understand it the kids are there doing
an all school mass
kindergarten up until grade 8 young
children these are primary school kids
in their first week back at school 8:15
is the mass it's a it's a weekly event
when uh the kids are there with their
parents. Of course, as we heard from our
eyewitness as well, this is also a mass
that's open to the public. People in the
local community, people who are members
of that congregation go to this mass
described as being like a Sunday mass.
So, it was full. These kids are doing an
all mass uh Miss Clolobashar reports and
had to watch several of their friends
get shot, one in the back, one in the
neck. They got down under the pews and
she her daughter was not shot, but her
daughter ended up being the one to tell
one of the dads of one of the other kids
that his daughter had been shot. That
the children traumatized by the incident
that's happened at their school. We
understand that six kids are being
treated at a local children's hospital.
We know that three people including the
gunman who died from a self-inflicted
wound have been killed in this instant.
Uh the total number we think at this
point injured is 20. Uh but that number
may well uh rise because as we've heard
from eyewitnesses there, there was lots
of fire, semi-automatic fire that went
on for several minutes. uh said the
eyewitness, Bill, who was uh at his home
not far a few blocks away from this
school when the shooting began. Now,
David, you're still with us, of course,
as we're waiting for the officials to uh
begin their news conference. completely
understandable as to why this has now
slipped for about 45 minutes or so as
they uh perhaps make sure that they have
all the information that they're able to
share at this stage um with everyone and
not get ahead of the story in any way by
uh saying the wrong thing.
>> Yes, the governor of Minnesota, Tim
Waltz, was very quick to describe this
as a horrific horrific act of violence.
On the basis of that report from Senator
Amy Clolobachar, horrific would appear
to be an understatement. She described a
conversation that she had with her
employee who had three children at this
school at the time of the shooting as
one of the most difficult conversations
of her life. Uh her fellow Senator Tina
Smith says these kids should not be
fearing for their lives. It's their
first week back at school. They just
went back into the classrooms on Monday
after the summer break and here they are
dealing with what will ultimately be one
of the most if not the most traumatic
experience of their entire lives. It
would appear they had gathered for mass
at the Enunciation Catholic Church which
adjoins their primary school at around
8:15 this morning. at 8:20. Uh law
enforcement tell us they responded to
reports of an active shooter and we did
fear that it was going to be a tragic
scene because of what we were hearing
from eyewitnesses who talked about the
sound of what they believed was
semi-automatic gunfire for a prolonged
period of time. So we did fear with
children in the building that they would
be among the casualties and Amy
Clolobachar is now confirming uh that
they are as indeed is the children's
hospital where six children are
currently being treated uh for their
injuries. A total of 20 people have been
injured is what we're being uh told. The
response continues at the scene. It's no
longer an active shooter scene because
uh the shooter has been contained in the
words of um the law enforcement
agencies. We we're told that he ended
his own life. Uh but sadly America is um
this morning again dealing with another
mass shooting which has taken place if
not in a school building in a church
alongside a school building. And again,
very young children appear to have been
caught up in a dreadful act of violence.
And while they're dealing with the
immediate aftermath of that now, it will
of course fuel the obvious political
debate about how America might ever find
a way uh to deal with the issue of gun
violence, which has raged for so so
long. 33 school shootings this year
alone. And here in the city of
Minneapolis, they've been dealing with
four shooting incidents in the space of
just 24 hours. So, it really is an issue
where that President Trump and his
administration are going to have to try
and turn their attention to to and find
a way to try and address.
>> Yeah. And one wonders what the response
will be. We've heard of the prayers of
course as often there is in these
thoughts and prayers are sent along but
many of those who are trying to reduce
gun violence in the United States the
victims of gun violence say every single
time thoughts and prayers are are never
enough. Now I was quoting um CNN who
have done some uh reporting into school
shootings in the United States. They use
um gun violence archive, an online
resource, education week and every town
for gun safety to compile uh these
figures. As you said, David, 33 uh
school shootings so far this year alone.
33 incidents in a school um this year
alone. Of course, kids have been on
summer break for the past eight weeks,
so you can uh work out how frequently
that sort of thing happens. But I just
want to give viewers the past few years
uh since kids were um back at school
following uh the COVID lockdown. 2021 74
school shootings. 2022 80 school
shootings. 2023 82 school shootings.
2024
83 school shootings. It's a frequent
event in the United States. And these
kids are primary school age children.
They are young. The kids start at this
school uh at pre kindergarten that is
four five years old and they are taught
active shooter drills. So I've had a
look at what an active shooter drill is.
Now in many other state countries in the
world kids are taught how to avoid
fires, how to uh leave the school safely
in the event the unlikely event there is
a fire. But in schools in the United
States, in kindergartens with children
under the age of five and in schools up
through primary school age, they are
taught about active shooter drills. Now,
these things are described as being
teacherled. Uh the kids are taught to
follow the teachers commands. They're
taught about lockdown procedures, how to
lock themselves down in classrooms by
turning off lights, how to move away
from windows. They're given stories with
pictures and simple language. It's
reported that uh is uh easy for a child
to understand a child being taught how
to avoid being shot while in their
school and one of the main things they
are taught is how to stay quiet. Crucial
aspect it says of a active shooter drill
for a child is how to stay quiet. These
children at school in Annunciation
Catholic Prime School in Minneapolis in
their first week back at school have uh
gone through what is an unimaginable
tragedy at this point in their young
lives and will have this with them
throughout the rest of their lives as
they of course have to continue going to
school and continue having this risk
hanging over them. Now, Children's
Minnesota uh children's uh hospital say
they are treating six kids who've been
injured uh as a result of this shooting.
Um they're not providing any more
details about their children's condition
at this stage. Uh of course um we know
that uh according to officials in the US
that 20 people had been injured as a
result of this shooting. um three dead
including the gun person themselves who
were told has died as a result of a
wound. We've had of course the political
reaction as well uh calls for uh
prayers. Tim Waltz, the governor of uh
Minnesota, saying on social media that
he's praying for the kids and teachers
whose first week of school has been
marred by this horrific acts of
violence. As we await to hear from city
officials, state officials, we're
expecting a news conference in the next
few minutes or so around about the top
of the hour to update us on exactly the
situation. Now a situation which it
would appear is over for now but of
course a situation the memory of which
will linger for a very long time in the
minds of those who have been caught up
in it. Uh now we've heard from some
individuals who live nearby in this
community in the southwest of
Minneapolis um who heard the shooting as
it began this morning at just gone 8:00.
Let's take a listen to what these
eyewitnesses uh told the media a little
time ago.
left side.
>> All right, we're going to step away from
that for a moment. You can see there the
mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, is
about to speak. Let's listen.
>> Words that can capture the horror and
the evil of this unspeakable act.
Children are dead.
their families that have a deceased
child.
You cannot put into words the gravity,
the tragedy, or the absolute pain of
this situation.
We are a Minneapolis family.
But to everybody out there,
do not think of these as just somebody
else's kids.
Those families are suffering immense
pain right now.
Think of this as if it were your own.
Every one of us needs to be wrapping our
arms around these families, giving them
every ounce that we can muster.
These were Minneapolis families. These
were American families.
And the amount of pain that they are
suffering right now is extraordinary.
And 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. And their parents should
have the same kind of assurance.
These are the sort of basic asurances
that every family should have every step
of the day regardless of where they are
in our country.
I'm so deeply saddened and I'm so sorry
uh to the families that I know are
suffering right now.
My ask is to everyone, stand by them,
love them.
These families have forever been changed
and we've all been changed with them.
We need to do everything possible to
support them through this time. We have
a family resource center that has been
set up.
I'm grateful for all of the law
enforcement agencies from a number of
different jurisdictions, all the
different departmental support that
we've received.
They're are going to be working
tirelessly.
There's also a family resource center uh
that is being set up as we speak to make
sure that we're there for everybody. Uh
again, to the families that are
suffering, to those that have
experienced loss, I'm so deeply sorry.
We're going to be with you every step of
the way. We love you.
This kind of act of evil should never
happen, and it happens far too often.
The chief will provide additional
details.
>> My name is Brian O'Hara. E R I A N O
apostrophe H A R A I am the Minneapolis
police chief.
Earlier today, just before 8:30 a.m.,
our city experienced an unthinkable
tragedy.
Minneapolis police officers responded to
a report of a shooting at a mass that
was happening at the Annunciation Roman
Catholic Church on the block behind me.
This worship service was marking the
first week of school for children that
are attending the Annunciation Catholic
School.
During the mass, a gunman approached on
the outside on the side of the building
and began firing a rifle through the
church windows
towards the children sitting in the pews
at the mass.
shooting through the windows. He struck
children and worshippers that were
inside the building. The shooter was
armed with a rifle, a shotgun, and a
pistol.
This was a deliberate act of violence
against innocent children and other
people worshiping.
The sheer cruelty
and cowardice of firing into a church
full of children is absolutely
incomprehensible.
Police officers from the Minneapolis
Police Department immediately responded.
entered the church and attempted to
provide first aid and rescue some of the
children that were hiding throughout the
building while other first responders
came and EMS responded to rush victims
to nearby hospitals.
Two young children, ages eight and 10,
were killed where they sat in the pews.
Their parents have been notified.
17 other people were injured,
14 of them being children.
Two of those children are in critical
condition.
The coward who fired these shots
ultimately took his own life in the rear
of the church. Our hearts are broken for
the families who have lost their their
children,
for these young lives that are now
fighting to recover and for our entire
community that has been so deeply
traumatized by this senseless attack.
We will stand together to protect our
children, our schools, and our houses of
worship.
This deliberate act of violence
is just an a sign of cruelty that is
beyond comprehension.
Our hearts
our hearts are broken for everyone
that's been affected by this tragedy.
As we begin the difficult path of
healing, I want the community to know
this, that even in the face of such
evil, the Minneapolis Police Department
and all of our law enforcement partners
stand with our community. We stand with
these families and with this parish. We
will continue to be here for you.
With that, the investigation is
obviously in its preliminary stages and
I will attempt to uh take some questions
to provide further information.
>> Chief, what can you tell us about the
suspect in this case? Uh how how old was
he? Any kind of motivation, any any
notes or any other information left
behind?
>> So, we were looking uh the question was
what can be said about the shooter? We
believe it is one suspect, a sole
shooter. We believe he is deceased. He
is in his early 20s. uh does not have an
extensive uh known criminal history. Um
and we are looking through uh
information left behind to try and
determine some type of motive.
>> How many kids at the school? How many
kids at the school?
>> How many children there were? I don't
have an exact The question was how many
children at the school? There were
dozens of children inside the mass at
the time. I don't have an exact count.
Uh the children have been relocated into
the school uh which is where their
families are are reunifying with them.
>> Other than the other weapons,
>> was the shooter a student former
student? Was he former employee?
>> The the question was, do we know if the
student was if the shooter was a uh
former school uh employee or a former
student? We don't have that information.
>> Did he leave anything behind other than
the weapon?
>> There's a vehicle. Well, the question
was, was anything left behind? There's a
vehicle that we believe that the uh
suspect used that is being searched. Uh
and and we are uh we will be conducting
other searches related to this.
>> And where was it?
>> Inside the parking lot here.
>> There was some neighbors who said that
the door to the church had been
barricaded.
>> Yep.
>> So, the question was neighbors had said
that the door to the church had been
barricaded. Uh the shooter approached on
one side of the church building and on
that side at least two doors there it
appears there had been uh like a 2x4
placed. So not all of the doors around
the building but on the side where the
shooter did fire
>> and on the outside
>> on the outside. Yes.
>> Were there any explosives?
>> The question was was there any
explosives? There were reports of that.
There were no uh explosives or
improvised devices that we found. I do
believe there was one uh I guess you
would call it a smoke bomb like not an
explosive but a a sort of a firework
that would release smoke.
>> Which side of the building? North
>> uh the side that is closest to us here
on this side. Yep.
>> Uh I I don't have specific information
on that that I can release.
>> Yeah. The uh question was is he dead
from a gunshot wound? The answer is yes.
We believe he took his own life in the
parking lot.
>> Was this outside or in or both inside
that he was shooting?
>> Uh I the question was was he shooting
outside and inside? He was absolutely
shooting outside of the building on the
side of the church inside through the
windows. It appears he may have gone
inside, but I don't believe we've
located any casings inside the building.
So I'm not certain if he fired also
while inside. It appears if not all most
of the shooting happened outside the
building. Chief, is this shooting
related to any other shootings that
happened in the last 24 hours?
>> So, yeah, Taylor's asking, is this
related to any of the other shootings?
This does not appear to be related to
any other shooting in the city.
>> Do you know approximately how many
rounds?
>> The question was how many rounds? I
would say it's in the dozens. We don't
have an exact count. There's a sidewalk
on the outside as well as a grassy area.
So, obviously, we are we are going
through and taking our time to process
the scene.
>> Was he firing just one weapon like the
rifle? The question was, was he firing
one weapon? We believe he had fired all
three. He had a rifle, a shotgun, and a
>> Chief, was this individual license to
conceal and carry? Did he have any is
the weapons uh was he lawfully carrying
the weapons? I I don't have that
information and I don't have any
information on any uh significant
criminal history either.
>> Was he dressed at all in any type of
gear or anything? It appeared he had uh
some black clothing on. Um his cargo
type pants. I I guess you could
interpret that as you know, however you
>> Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for
helping us to get the information out
today. Uh we have a lot more that needs
to be done.
>> Um we will return back later today to
provide more details as they become
available and we'll let you know how you
can know about that in the moments to
come. Thank you.
>> Okay. How can the public help?
>> You're watching the NewsHour here on Sky
News and we were just hearing from Brian
O'Hara, who is the Minneapolis police
chief, about the shooting uh that
happened there at a Catholic primary
school in the city. We've learned that
two children died in that shooting. They
were aged just 8 and 10 years old. 17
people were injured, including 14
children. And it was happening happening
during a a Catholic mass uh that a lot
of uh children were at because they were
marking the start of the uh school year
happens a bit earlier uh in the US than
it does on this side of the Atlantic.
And he described the person who carried
out the shooting who uh since taken
their own life in the parking lot, said
the police chief there as being someone
in their early 20s, didn't have a
significant or extensive, I think was
the word he used, criminal history, but
was carrying a rifle, a shotgun, and a
pistol, and used those to carry out what
he described as cruelty beyond
comprehension. So that was Brian O'Hara,
the police chief of Minneapolis. Let's
bring in our US correspondent David
Blevins who joins me now. And uh David,
cruelty beyond comprehension, but
cruelty in the US that isn't very
unusual sadly.
>> Yes. And I think there was a sense of
that in the words we heard also from the
mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, a very
emotional mayor talking about the horror
and evil that had been visited upon the
city this morning in what he described
as an an unspeakable act. He summed it
up very bluntly. Children are dead.
Families have deceased children. And
there are no words to describe that. He
encouraged people listening to think of
this as if they were your own children
because he wants America to realize that
there is still an issue regarding gun
violence particularly in schools. He is
a Democratic mayor. He said people needs
need to stand by these families because
this city has been changed and these
families have been in his words forever
changed by what happened in that church
this morning. The Annunciation Catholic
Church uh sits alongside the primary
school in an area of Minneapolis uh
called uh Tangle Town. and the children
had gone there with some of their
congregation to mark the first week of
term as you say. Uh we heard from the
police chief how the mass had just begun
really when shots beca be came through
the window. He talked about the gunman
being armed with a rifle uh with a
shotgun and with a pistol and he talked
about dozens of rounds being fired
towards innocent children. That's why he
described the gunman as a coward and
said he had uh ended his own life uh
with a bullet as well. He did give us
some more details about the gunman as
well. He said they believed he was in
his early 20s. Had no extensive uh
criminal history and they were still
attempting to establish the motive. They
also said they were searching a vehicle
that he had driven to the scene. So
alongside all of those practical details
we're hearing, there is already, I
suppose, the debate uh reemerging in the
United States about how they might ever
find a way to balance the right to bear
arms against the unspeakable violence
that we've witnessed in Minneapolis
again this morning.
>> And David, as you mentioned there, it
happened during a mass. There were a lot
of children there from this Catholic
primary school marking the start of the
school year with that mass. But it
wasn't just children in the
congregation. It sounds like there were
other people there worshiping as well.
Yes, we understand from people in that
community that on a wed morning when
they attend mass, the children sit on
one side of the building and their
parents and some other members of the
congregation on the other. So, the
building sounds like it would have been
fairly well um filled this morning at
8:20 when police received reports of an
active shooter in the building. And as
you can see, the response of the
emergency services was significant in
scale and in speed. But at the end of
the day, they're dealing with the
aftermath of an act of violence which
has been carried out, it would seem, by
just one person armed, in this case,
according to the police, with three
different types of weapon, a rifle, a
shotgun, and a pistol. And we could talk
about the statistics of school
shootings, 33 of them this year, alone
all day. But ultimately, it is the
trauma for those young children. And
this is a a a school that serves
children from preschool to 8th grade,
the equivalent of a primary school in
the United Kingdom, who will now bear
the trauma of this uh for the rest of
their lives. And I think the horror of
it was perhaps uh best described by
Senator Amy Kobachar, who is a
Democratic senator from Minnesota. In an
interview with MSNBC, she said she'd
spoken to one of her longtime employees
who had three children in the school
this morning. And the senator described
the call that she had with the mother of
those three children as one of the most
upsetting things she has ever heard. The
woman's daughter, who's in seventh
grade, watched as some of her friends
were shot. This is what Amy Kobachar
said. These kids are doing an old school
mass and had to watch several of their
friends get shot. One in the back, one
in the neck and they all got down onto
the pews and she and her daughter,
that's her employee, and her daughter of
course were not shot. But her daughter
ended up being the one to tell one of
the dads of the other kids that his
daughter
>> David, I'm just going to interrupt you
there. We're going to a local hospital
now to hear the latest from there about
the shooting.
>> The last 24 hours that have occurred,
these mass casualty incidents,
the one today, um we received a total of
11 patients from uh this incident. Two
of them were adult patients, nine
pediatric patients,
four of them required the operating
room, and up to this point in time,
there have been no fatalities related to
any of those patients that were brought
to our organization.
Uh I want to take a moment to tell you
how proud I am to work for this
organization uh and the teams that were
involved, the resources again that were
mobilized, our surgical colleagues, our
medical uh medicine colleagues, our
amazing nursing staff,
our psychologists that uh help uh
process uh these events for us, uh
environmental services, all those
involved. uh Henip and EMS brought in
all the critical patients from that
scene to our organization and we're very
lucky to have two emergency medicine uh
emergency medical services directors
that were on scene and able to provide
us with really important information
that again helped us to prepare for this
event. So I don't have any uh individual
or specific uh information about the
patients at this time for you. So that's
all I can share. Uh thank you for being
here. Any questions? You
>> said they were in critical condition.
>> Uh, seven were brought in as critical
patients and at this time I can't I
don't know the updates on what the
conditions are of many of them. Four of
them required the operating room as as I
said
>> there was a baby.
>> Uh there were uh again nine of the 11
patients were the pediatric ages. I
can't remember the exact name uh the
exact ages. I believe it's six all the
way up to 14. That's the range.
Can you tell us a little bit about um
what types of teams you had working this
morning and how many people it takes to
treat us?
>> Yeah, you know, whenever I whenever that
type of a page goes out again, it really
puts into motion a lot of a big response
from all the teams and so we are because
we're a level one trauma center, uh we
have to, you know, mobilize certain
types of resources like, you know,
operating rooms and the surgical
services. We have to have emergency
providers and nurses. we have to um you
know mobilize things like the laboratory
and and and the the blood bank. Um so
there's a lot of uh a lot of planning
and again a lot of uh exercises we do
throughout the year to prepare for these
events and unfortunately you know we we
respond to many of them throughout the
year.
>> Can you talk about the injuries at all
or any type of what you're seeing here
with some of these patients? You know, I
can't get into specifics, but we were
dealing with gunshot wound injuries from
apparently a high velocity uh weapon.
And you know, gunshot wounds can be very
problematic because they can involve
multiple body systems. And again, they
require a lot of resources to manage. Uh
but again, you know, we see a lot of
gunshot wounds here at Henipin
Healthcare, and we're among the best in
the nation every year at managing
penetrating trauma. Um so we're we are
used to seeing them. Can you tell us who
where the status of
the 11? Are any of them still in
surgery?
>> Uh, I can't I don't know the status of
that. I can't share that with you at
this time.
>> Has anyone shot more than once?
>> Uh, I can't share that information with
you at this time. Can
>> you confirm their families of some of
the victims that made their way here?
>> Yeah, we've had quite a bit of effort to
stand up a reunification center across
the street here at our um our clinical
specialy care building. And so to my
knowledge uh I believe uh all or almost
all of the families and loved ones have
been reunited with with patients and
know their status.
>> Do you know if anyone is being treated
at any other locations?
>> Uh my understanding was uh we had a lot
of the non-critical patients that went
to Children's Hospital and uh I believe
one went to Masonic Children's Hospital
as well. Uh I don't know that the status
of any of those patients.
Can you speak to the toll it takes on
physicians here who have to handle these
types of cases of mass county within
hours?
>> Yeah, it does take a toll. Um, thank you
for asking that, you know, asking that
question. I think um again, we have
psychologists that we have dedicated to
our emergency department to help with
our our providers and our nurses and
other workers to that manage these types
of events. Again, you know, we've had
two mass casualty events happen in the
last 24 hours. I mean, that that does
take a toll. Uh but we also have to
recognize that we are here as a critical
resource for our community and we
have to take time to process, you know,
these the care that we deliver in these
situations and we have to be able to
move forward because we we are obviously
needed.
>> And none of those patients have been
discharged? Not to my knowledge.
>> You said there were 11 total and nine of
them were pediatrics. Ages 6 to 14, but
seven were in critical condition. Are
all of those that are pediatric? Those
six to 14, are all of those the critical
condition or the ones that are older
also in critical condition?
>> Um, I don't want to misspe. I believe
that all of the the pediatric patients
were the ones that were in the critical
condition. Yes.
>> Did I get my numbers right?
>> You did. You did.
Can you give us your specific title one
more time? Doctor,
>> it's Thomas Wyatt. Yeah. Chair of
emergency medicine at Henipin
Healthcare.
>> Thank you.
>> Well, as you just heard uh that man say,
he was Dr. Thomas Wyatt from Henipin
Healthcare Hospital in Minneapolis. uh
dealing with a lot of the injured, a lot
of the children, I'm sad to say, uh who
were victims of that shooting uh at a uh
a mass that was happening at a Catholic
primary school earlier in the day. Uh
something stood out there. They very
experienced said dealing with this kind
of trauma. The children were injured in
line with someone using a high velocity
uh weapon. We know that the shooter,
according to Brian O'Hara, who is the
Minneapolis police chief speaking
earlier on, was carrying a pistol, a
rifle, and a shotgun as well. And uh it
is extremely resourceheavy in dealing
with those kind of injuries, he said,
and also of course takes its toll on the
people who are having to do so. He
talked about having psychologists
available for those health care
professionals who are dealing with the
aftermath of such a terrible shooting uh
as this. If you're just joining us,
you're on Sky News, just approaching 20
5 here in uh the UK and Ireland. And a
reminder that two children aged 8 and 10
years old have been killed in a shooting
that happened during a Catholic mass on
school grounds in Minneapolis. A lot of
children in that service, marking the
start of the school year that is just
getting underway in much of the US. And
as far as we know, 17 other people were
injured and that includes 14 other
children. We just heard from that doctor
there saying uh none of those children
in their care have died. Uh but many of
them have quite serious injuries from
being shot as well. As for the person
who carried out the shooting, said to be
a man in his early 20s who subsequently
took his own life in the parking lot of
uh the school there and someone who
didn't have an extensive criminal
history. Let's bring uh David Blevens
back in because David, we're getting
other reaction as well uh from the state
of Minnesota, Governor Tim Waltz, who
people may remember as being of course
the running mate of Kla Harris in the uh
in the election in the US. Governor Tim
Waltz calling the violence horrific uh
online posting on X. He said he's
praying for our kids and teachers whose
first week of school was marred by this
horrific act of violence. And I'm sure
there's going to be a similar response
right across the US given that it is the
end of the summer holidays and children
starting back for the new term just this
week.
Yes, just 3 days into the academic year
and already America is dealing with a
mass shooting involving school children.
uh Governor Tim Walsh's post online
talking about this horrific act I think
is the first thing that really alerted
us to the potential gravity of what had
happened at Annunciation Catholic Church
this morning. The Homeland Security
Secretary Christine Gnome then described
it as a heinous act and together their
comments were reinforced uh by the
President of the United States, Donald
Trump, talking about his concern uh for
the children and their parents. He said
he was praying for them as indeed did
the vice president JD Vance. But it was
quite pointed I thought when the mayor
of Minneapolis uh Jacob Frey said this
was not a day for thoughts and prayers
because a horror and evil had been
visited upon them. He described it as an
unspeakable act and said the lives of
these families had been forever changed
and he wanted people to really reflect
on the fact that it could so easily have
been their children who'd been caught up
in this act of violence. the police
chief describing it as an unthinkable
tragedy and and really giving us some of
the horrific detail. The gunman armed
with three different types of weapon, a
rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol, firing
dozens of rounds through the windows of
the church just as this mass to mark the
beginning of the school year was getting
underway, leaving two children dead,
aged eight and 10, 17 injured, as you
say, 14 of those children and two remain
in a in a critical condition.
>> David, for the moment, thank you very
much indeed uh for that. You're just
seeing images of Minneapolis. We also
heard the police chief saying their
investigation is of course in its
preliminary stages. But just to
reiterate what David said there, 17
people injured, 14 of 14 of them
children in this mass shooting in the
city of Minneapolis in the state of
Minnesota. Uh but sadly, two children
aged eight and 10 have been killed.
We'll have more for you here on Sky News
after the short