A shooting occurred on Wednesday morning at Annunciation Catholic School in the city of Minneapolis, the U.S. state of Minnesota, killing an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old and injuring 17 others, police confirmed.
Before 8:30 a.m. local time, the shooter, armed with a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol, approached the school church and fired through the windows at the children who were sitting in the pews during Mass, Minneapolis police chief Brian O'Hara said at a news conference.
The shooter then killed himself in the rear of the church, O'Hara confirmed. The suspect was in his 20s and did not have an extensive criminal history, he said.
Hours after the shooting, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a proclamation lowering the flags to half-staff in honor of the victims. Trump said the FBI quickly responded and is on the scene, adding that the White House will continue to monitor the situation.
"The FBI is investigating this shooting as an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics," FBI Director Kash Patel said on X.
The Minnesota school shooting is the latest carnage at a U.S. school or college since the 1999 Columbine massacre, the Associated Press reported.
There have been 44 school shootings in the U.S. this year, as of August 27. Twenty-two were on college campuses and a further 22 were on K-12 school grounds. The incidents left 18 people dead and at least 74 other victims injured, CNN reported, citing the Gun Violence Archive, Education Week and Everytown for Gun Safety.
The Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more people, excluding the perpetrator, are shot or killed, said a total of 286 mass shootings have occurred in the United States so far this year.
Political deadlock
While school shootings and gun violence have become grim facts of life in the U.S., efforts to place additional restrictions on gun ownership have run into opposition from conservative groups and politicians.
"Don't just say, this is about thoughts and prayers right now. These kids were literally praying," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said on Wednesday. "All of our kids should be able to go to school or church or anywhere without the fear of gun violence."
Frey's plea was echoed by several Democratic leaders in Minnesota who renewed calls and demanded action to address gun violence in the wake of Minnesota school shooting.
But their calls for greater action may soon meet political reality. In the immediate aftermath of Wednesday's shooting, Republican leaders in Congress have shown no signs of opening a push for new gun measures next week when lawmakers return from their August recess.
The White House in May called for a roughly $1.2 billion budget for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in fiscal 2026, down from its current funding of about $1.63 billion. And in June, the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency sent staff to the ATF in a bid to eliminate more than 50 rules and gun restrictions by July 4.
As for the partisan difference, Diao Daming, a professor from the Department of International Relations at Renmin University of China, said the Democrats and Republicans differ on whether it is the problem of people or guns.
Republicans argue that "it's the person, not the gun," placing the blame on individuals. Democrats acknowledge that people aren't blameless, but insist that guns are the bigger issue, Diao said.
Besides, interest group lobbying is rampant. Group politics and electoral politics in the U.S. have provided legalized channels for gun groups to conduct money politics and influence the stance of Congress members on guns.
According to OpenSecrets statistics, the National Rifle Association, a strong voice for the rights of gun owners across the country, spent $2,040,000 on lobbying in 2024, making it the third among top Lobbying Clients in 2024.
