Man opens fire during Catholic school mass in US, two children killed
US police neutralized the shooter (Illustrative photo: Getty Images)
A shooting occurred at a church of a Catholic school in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As a result of the shooting, two children were killed and 17 people were injured with varying degrees of severity, CNN reports.
According to police, at least two children — aged 8 and 10 — were killed in the shooting. The attacker opened fire during a Catholic school mass that was being held to mark the first week of the school year. According to the investigation, he approached the church building and fired through the windows at people sitting in the pews.
The shooter was killed by law enforcement. It is known that he was just over 20 years old and had a rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol, although he did not manage to use most of his weapons.
The attacker had no criminal record, and police are trying to establish the motive for the crime. The shooting is being regarded as "a deliberate act of violence."
In addition to the dead, 17 people were injured, 14 of them children aged between 6 and 14. Two of the victims are in critical condition, and four required urgent surgeries.
"This was a deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshiping," said Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara.
In July, in the US city of Traverse City, Michigan, a man attacked people with a knife in a Walmart supermarket, injuring at least 11. Earlier, on Sunday, July 13, a shooting occurred at the Richmond Road Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky, which also left people dead and wounded.
At the end of June, an unidentified man opened fire on rescuers who were extinguishing a forest fire in the state of Idaho, killing two people. In addition, in June in Minnesota, a shooting killed Member of the House of Representatives Melissa Hortman and her husband. Senator John Hoffman and his wife were injured.
Interestingly, against the backdrop of such incidents, some Americans say that living in Ukraine, which is subjected to Russian shelling every day, feels safer than in the United States. One such American told RBC-Ukraine in an interview that "more people have died from shootings in Las Vegas than from the war in Lutsk."
