Families of children killed in Minneapolis church shooting call for healing, change
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August 28, 2025 – Minneapolis church shooting
Grayson Singh, 12, still carries the weight of his two classmates’ death in Wednesday’s shooting. Fletcher Merkel, 8, and Harper Moyski, 10, were shot dead at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis. “I just saw other people ducking under, so I thought I’ll duck under too,” Grayson said. Grayson explained that older students are assigned to younger students in a buddy system.
Grayson Singh, 12, still carries the weight of his two classmates’ death in Wednesday’s shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis.
“They were nice, but unfortunately they were the first to get shot at so they just didn’t have time to react,” Grayson said — his voice cracking as he spoke about Fletcher Merkel, 8, and Harper Moyski, 10.
The shooting began mid-song during Mass, just as the students were settling into their first week of school.
“At first, we were singing a song, and then I just saw glass shattering, going down the line,” Grayson told CNN’s Laura Coates, adding that he thought it was a balloon popping. “It just hit me. I just saw other people ducking under, so I thought I’ll duck under too.”
Hiding beneath the pews with a fourth grade student, he tried to keep calm. Grayson explained that older students are assigned to younger students in a buddy system.
“I told him to like hide under the pews and sit there and stay — I didn’t want to draw any attention,” he said.
As bullets shattered the sanctuary, splinters of wood hit his pew.
Grayson said he gathered the sharp pieces and handed them to a nearby teacher under the pew next to him because he didn’t want kids getting cut as they exited the building.
When it was finally safe to leave, his thoughts turned to his sister, who is going to fourth grade.
“I saw a chair in front of the door and I stood on the chair because I’m not the tallest for seventh grade … I finally saw my mom and I jumped off the chair and I was holding my sister, and just hugged,” Grayson said.
“I just wish this never happened,” he said.
Parents of Students Killed in Minneapolis Church Shooting Share Emotional Pleas
Fletcher Merkel, 8, and Harper Moyski, 10, were killed on Wednesday when a shooter opened fire at a Mass that hundreds of students at Annunciation Catholic School attended. “Please remember Fletcher for the person he was and not the act that ended his life,” Merkel’s father, Jesse Merkel, tearfully read a statement on Thursday outside of the church where his son was killed. A nurse who was not assigned to respond to the mass casualty event sat with the young girl who was injured during a CT scan, even though safety protocols stipulate that medical staff should clear the room to prevent radiation exposure. Several medical first responders — many of whom were stationed just blocks away from the church — have children enrolled at the Catholic school, officials announced on Thursday. Children “protecting other children” often “laid on the floor and covered each other up” while teachers ushered kids to safety, an emergency medical official said. The first police officer entered the church “without hesitation” just minutes after the call the shooting, Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara said.
The parents of the two schoolchildren fatally shot in a Minneapolis church spoke out for the first time on Thursday afternoon, with some imploring the shaken community to address the root causes of shootings that target schools.
Fletcher Merkel, 8, and Harper Moyski, 10, were killed on Wednesday morning when a shooter opened fire at a Mass that hundreds of students at Annunciation Catholic School attended.
City officials increased to 15 the number of injured children, who are ages 6 to 15. Three parishioners in their 80s also were injured. Only one person — a child — was in critical condition.
In a statement released Thursday, Moyski’s parents described Harper as “a bright, joyful, and deeply loved 10-year-old” who was “adored” by her younger sister.
“As a family, we are shattered, and words cannot capture the depth of our pain,” the statement read.
The 10-year-old’s parents said that they were focused on healing in the wake of the shooting, but added that they hoped Harper’s memory would fuel action that might prevent shootings going forward.
“No family should ever have to endure this kind of pain,” Harper’s parents wrote. “We urge our leaders and communities to take meaningful steps to address gun violence and the mental health crisis in this country.”
Fletcher Merkel’s father, Jesse Merkel, tearfully read a statement on Thursday outside of the church where his son was killed, saying the eight-year-old loved his family and friends and enjoyed fishing, cooking and playing any sport.
Because of the shooter’s actions, Merkel said, “we will never be allowed to hold him, talk to him, play with him and watch him grow into the wonderful young man he was on the path to becoming.”
“Please remember Fletcher for the person he was and not the act that ended his life,” Merkel said.
Even as Merkel mourned the loss of his son, he said he was thankful for the “swift and heroic actions” of adults and students inside the church without whom “this could have been a tragedy of many magnitudes more.”
Minneapolis doctors and law enforcement echoed Merkel’s sentiment throughout the day on Thursday, describing the grueling escape children and teachers endured, as well as the heroic rescue efforts that saved countless lives.
When one of the students who was injured during the shooting went in for a CT scan on Wednesday, she was visibly distressed.
Without hesitation, a nurse at the hospital who was not assigned to respond to the mass casualty event sat with the young girl throughout the procedure — even though safety protocols stipulate that medical staff should clear the room to prevent radiation exposure.
The nurse “put a little lead on, stayed there and held her hand and held her hair while she went through scanners so she didn’t have to go through alone,” Dr. Jon Gayken, one of the head trauma surgeons at Hennepin County Medical Center, said.
Several medical first responders — many of whom were stationed just blocks away from the church — have children enrolled at the Catholic school, officials announced on Thursday.
“Those are the types of things we witnessed yesterday,” Gayken said.
Despite the unimaginable tragedy of the day, Gayken said, there were far less casualties than there could have been.
Marty Scheerer, the chief of Hennepin County Emergency Medical Services, credited “unrecognized heroes,” like the children and teachers in the church who followed their active shooter safety trainings, despite the chaotic and incessant hail of gunfire.
Children “protecting other children” often “laid on the floor and covered each other up” while teachers ushered kids to safety.
“That was key,” Scheerer said.
The first police officer entered the church “without hesitation” just minutes after the 911 call reported the shooting, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said.
Parishioners told O’Hara that it was “the first time that the children and others there had any sense that they might be safe and survive.”
When officers entered the church, they encountered children “that had blood on them from not because they were injured, but because of blood pressure from other kids,” O’Hara said at a separate news conference later in the day.
“There’s going to be countless lessons of bravery, from young children all the way up to elders,” O’Hara said.
Parents of child killed in Minneapolis shooting call for action on guns
Fletcher Merkel, eight, and Harper Moyski, 10, were killed on Wednesday morning when a shooter opened fire at a mass attended by nearly 200 students at Annunciation Catholic School. Harper’s parents described their daughter as “bright, joyful, and deeply loved” and adored by her younger sister. 15 other students aged between 6 and 15 were injured. Three adults, all in their 80s, were also shot. Most of the victims are expected to survive, although one child was in critical condition on Thursday while 11 other victims remained in hospitals. The shooter, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, attended the same school and was “obsessed” with the idea of killing children, authorities said. Police chief: “No evidence will ever be able to make sense of such an unthinkable tragedy,” Chief Brian O’Hara said. He credited “unrecognised heroes”, like the children and teachers in the church who followed their active shooter safety trainings, despite the chaotic and incessant hail of gunfire.
Fletcher Merkel, eight, and Harper Moyski, 10, were killed on Wednesday morning when a shooter opened fire at a mass attended by nearly 200 students at Annunciation Catholic School.
In a statement, Harper’s parents described their daughter as “bright, joyful, and deeply loved” and adored by her younger sister.
Harper Moyski, 10, was killed in yesterday’s school shooting in Minneapolis. (Supplied: AP, Moyski family)
“As a family, we are shattered and words cannot capture the depth of our pain,” the statement said.
Harper’s parents said they were focused on healing in the wake of the shooting but that they hoped their daughter’s memory would fuel action that might prevent more shootings.
“No family should ever have to endure this kind of pain,” they said.
“We urge our leaders and communities to take meaningful steps to address gun violence and the mental health crisis in this country,” Harper Moyski’s family said.
Fifteen other students aged between 6 and 15 were injured.
Three adults, all in their 80s, were also shot.
Most of the victims are expected to survive, authorities said, although one child was in critical condition on Thursday while 11 other victims remained in hospitals.
Fletcher Merkel, eight, loved fishing and playing sports. (Supplied: AP, Merkel family)
Fletcher Merkel’s father, Jesse Merkel, tearfully read a statement on Thursday outside of the church where his son was killed, saying the eight-year-old loved his family and friends and enjoyed fishing, cooking and playing sports.
“We will never be allowed to hold him, talk to him, play with him and watch him grow into the wonderful young man he was on the path to becoming,” he said.
“Please remember Fletcher for the person he was and not the act that ended his life.”
Jesse Merkel wants people to remember his son Fletcher, eight, as the happy, joyful boy he was. (AP: Aaron Lavinsky/Star Tribune)
Mr Merkel said he was thankful for the “swift and heroic actions” of adults and students inside the church without whom “this could have been a tragedy of many magnitudes more”.
Marty Scheerer, the chief of Hennepin County Emergency Medical Services, credited “unrecognised heroes”, like the children and teachers in the church who followed their active shooter safety trainings, despite the chaotic and incessant hail of gunfire.
Children “protecting other children” had “laid on the floor and covered each other up” while teachers ushered kids to safety.
The first police officer entered the church “without hesitation” just minutes after the 911 call reported the shooting, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said.
Two children dead at school shooting in US Photo shows A mother hugging her son out the front of a school building. The shooting unfolded as children attended an initiation Mass on the third day of school since returning from summer holidays.
When officers entered the church, they encountered children “that had blood on them from not because they were injured, but because of blood pressure from other kids,” Chief O’Hara said.
“There’s going to be countless lessons of bravery, from young children all the way up to elders.”
The shooter, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, attended the same school and was “obsessed” with the idea of killing children, authorities said.
Westman fired 116 rifle rounds through stained-glass windows.
“It is very clear that this shooter had the intention to terrorise those innocent children,” O’Hara said.
Shooter obsessed with mass killings: police chief
The shooting was the latest in a long list of attacks targeting students since the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in Colorado.
Investigators recovered hundreds of pieces of evidence from the church and three residences, the police chief said.
They found more writings from the suspect, but no additional firearms or a clear motive for the attack on the church the shooter once attended.
Westman had a “deranged fascination” with mass killings, Chief O’Hara said.
“No evidence will ever be able to make sense of such an unthinkable tragedy,” he said.
Surveillance video captured the attack and showed the shooter never entered the church and could not see the children while firing through windows lined up with the pews, the police chief said.
Community members are calling for an end to gun violence following yesterday’s school shooting in Minneapolis. (AP: Abbie Parr)
Westman, whose mother worked for the parish before retiring in 2021, left behind several videos and page upon page of writings describing a litany of grievances. One read: “I know this is wrong, but I can’t seem to stop myself.”
Chief O’Hara said Westman was armed with a rifle, shotgun and pistol, and died by suicide.
On a YouTube channel, videos that police say may have been posted by the shooter show weapons and ammunition, and list the names of mass shooters.
The now-deleted videos also show weapons and ammunition, scrawled with “kill Donald Trump” and “Where is your God?”
What appears to be a suicide note to family contains a confession of long-held plans to carry out a shooting and talk of being deeply depressed.
Children protect each other
Reverend Dennis Zehren, who was inside the church with the children, said the responsorial psalm — which spoke of light in the darkness — had almost ended when he heard someone yell, “Down down, everybody down”, and gunshots rang out.
Fifth-grader Weston Halsne said he ducked for the pews, covering his head, shielded by a friend who was on top of him. His friend was hit, he said.
“I was super scared for him, but I think now he’s OK,” the 10-year-old said.
There were no past arrests or anything in the shooter’s background that would have prevented Westman from being able to legally purchase a firearm, investigators said.
Vincent Francoual said his 11-year-old daughter, Chloe, survived by running downstairs and hiding in a room with a table pushed against the door.
He said she was struggling to communicate clearly about the traumatising scene and that she thought she was going to die.
Tess Rada said her eight-year-old daughter also had not said much about the shooting or what she saw but loud noises and sirens had bothered her since the attack.
One of the children killed was her daughter’s friend.
“It’s kind of impossible to wrap your head around how to tell an eight-year-old that her friend has been killed,” Ms Rada said.
AP
Minneapolis shooting: Shooter ‘wanted to watch children suffer’ as 120 shell casings are recovered, officials say
Minneapolis police chief says he doesn’t know of any mental illness in the family. The family is cooperating with investigators, but they haven’t located the shooter. The suspect is believed to be in her late 20s or 30s.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said today that authorities do not have information indicating that the shooter suffered from mental illness and that, other than a traffic ticket, she did not have a police record.
“There is nothing in the investigation so far that would lead us to believe that anything was missed,” O’Hara said.
The shooter, he said, was able to “lawfully purchase these weapons.”
O’Hara added that the shooter’s family has been cooperating with investigators, but they have not yet located his mother, who lives in another state. Records show her residence as being in Florida.
Read the full story here.
After Minneapolis Church Shooting, Families Seek Healing and Comfort
Families and neighbors gathered outside the church in Minneapolis, where a shooter killed two children and injured 18 others. Jesse Merkel, who lost his son Fletcher in the shooting, asked for “not your sympathy, but your empathy.”
Families and neighbors had gathered outside the church in Minneapolis, where a shooter killed two children and injured 18 others the day before, to hear remarks from Jesse Merkel, who lost his son Fletcher in the shooting. Seeming to hold back tears, he asked for “not your sympathy, but your empathy, as our families grieve and try to make sense of a senseless act of violence.”
“Please remember Fletcher for the person he was and not the act that ended his life,” Mr. Merkel said. “Give your kids an extra hug and kiss today. We love you, Fletcher, you’ll always be with us.”
Signs of grieving, support and remembrance appeared to be everywhere: on posters, in chalk, on plywood.