The tragic shooting that left two children, 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski, killed and 17 others injured happened during a school Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church.
The shooter, who opened fire through the church’s stained-glass windows, was identified as 23-year-old former student Robin Westman.
He used various weapons, including a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol, the Guardian reported.
The shooter grew up in Richfield and his mother worked at Annunciation school at some point in the past.
As victims began arriving at the hospital, Amy was shocked to see Sophia, who was badly injured.
“Her mother, a Pediatric Critical Care nurse, arrived at work to help during the tragedy, before knowing it was her children’s school that was attacked, and that her daughter was critically injured,” according to a GoFundMe page that lists Forchas’ father Thomas as an organizer.
“Sophia was shot during the attack and is currently in critical condition in the ICU,” the page adds. “She has already undergone emergency surgery, and her medical team is doing everything they can to stabilize her. Her road ahead will be long, uncertain, and incredibly difficult — but she is strong, and she is not alone.”
Father Timothy Sas of St. Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church in Minneapolis described Sophia as a 7th grader who is “immersed in the life of the Church together with her extended family of several generations who are devoted members of our congregation.”
He wrote, “I have spent a good portion of the day with Sophia’s family at Hennepin County Medical Center where Sophia went into surgery immediately as she was one of the shooting victims who had been critically injured.
“We prayed and comforted each other throughout the day.”
Sophia’s younger brother was also at the church at the time Westman, a transgender woman, opened the fire, but he wasn’t harmed.
“The trauma of witnessing such a terrifying event — and knowing his sister was critically injured — is something no child should ever experience,” the GoFundMe reads.
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