Two killed, 17 injured after gunman opens fire at school in US: Police

A gunman opened fire with a rifle through the windows of a Catholic church and struck a group of children celebrating Mass during the first week of school killing two and wounding 17 in an act of violence the police chief called absolutely incomprehensibleMinneapolis Police Chief Brian OHara said the shooter armed with a rife shotgun and pistol approached the side of the church and shot through the windows toward the children sitting in the pews during Mass at the Annunciation Catholic SchoolOHara said the shooting suspect is dead and in his early 20s and does not have an extensive known criminal history Officials are looking into his motiveThis was a deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshipping The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible said the police chief who noted that a wooden plank was placed to barricade some of the side doorsThe children who died were 8 and 10 he saidMinnesota Gov Tim Walz called the violence horrific in a social media postChildrens Minnesota a pediatric trauma hospital said in a statement five children were admitted for care Hennepin Healthcare which has Minnesotas largest emergency department said it also was caring for patients from the shootingBill Bienemann who lives a couple of blocks away and has long attended Mass at Annunciation Church said he heard dozens of shots perhaps as many as 50 over as long as four minutesI was shocked I said Theres no way that could be gunfire he said adding There was so much of it It was sporadicBienemanns daughter Alexandra said she attended the school from kindergarten to 8th grade finishing in 2014 After she heard of the shooting she said she was shaking and crying and her boss told her to take the day offIt breaks my heart makes me sick to my stomach knowing that there are people I know who are either injured or maybe even killed Alexandra Bienemann saidIt doesnt make me feel safe at all in this community that I have been in for so longThe school was evacuated and students families later were directed to a reunification zone at the school Outside amid a heavy uniformed law enforcement presence were uniformed children in their dark green shirts or dresses Many were trickling out of the school with adults giving lingering hugs and wiping away tearsLocal state county and federal law enforcement officers and agents converged on the area a leafy residential and commercial neighbourhood about 8 kilometres south of downtown Minneapolis On Truth Social President Donald Trump said he was briefed on the tragic shooting and that the White House would continue to monitor itDating to 1923 the prekindergarten through eighth grade school had an allschool Mass scheduled at 815 am Wednesday morning according to its websiteMonday was the first day of school Recent social media posts from the school show children smiling at a backtoschool event holding up summer art projects playing together and enjoying ice popsAt a meeting of Democratic officials elsewhere in Minneapolis Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin noted the shooting and unknown amount of victimsThe gunfire was the latest in a series of fatal shootings in the city in less than 24 hours One person was killed and six others were hurt in a shooting Tuesday afternoon outside a high school in Minneapolis Hours later two people died in two other shootings in the cityWednesdays school shooting also followed a spate of hoax calls about purported shootings on at least a dozen US college campuses The bogus warnings sometimes featuring gunshot sounds in the background prompted universities to issue texts to run hide fight and frightened students around the nation as the school year beginsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever