LEILA FADEL, HOST:
It was only their third day of the new school year - the first all-school gathering at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, a celebratory Mass at the Catholic church connected to the school. But the prayer service was violently interrupted on Wednesday with gunfire and with death. And after the shooting, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said he was tired of the same ineffective response after these all-too-common acts of violence.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JACOB FREY: Don't just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now. These kids were literally praying.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The shooter fired through the stained glass windows of the church where nearly 200 children were gathered. Two children were killed. More than a dozen others were wounded, along with three adults in their 80s. Mayor Frey voiced what many in Minneapolis and around the country are feeling.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
FREY: These are kids that should be learning with their friends. They should be playing on the playground. They should be able to go to school or church in peace without the fear or risk of violence, and their parents should have the same kind of assurance. These are the sort of basic assurances that every family should have every step of the day, regardless of where they are in our country.
FADEL: Minnesota Governor Tim Walz also mourned with the city, addressing the public in an afternoon press conference on Wednesday.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TIM WALZ: A community behind us - Annunciation Church and School, committed to academics, service and Catholic values, filled with the first days of school of beautiful children going to learn those values, share with their teachers and their classmates. And instead of that joy and that curiosity and that learning, they were met with evil and horror and death.
MARTIN: Later, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar joined NPR's All Things Considered.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR CONTENT)
AMY KLOBUCHAR: There is going to be stories told of the church personnel that were in there, of the teachers, of other kids, older kids, protecting younger kids when this whole story is told.
MARTIN: For the children who survived, Annunciation School principal Matthew DeBoer had this message he shared at a news conference.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MATTHEW DEBOER: I love you. You're so brave, and I'm so sorry this happened to us today. We lost two angels today.
FADEL: Authorities identified the shooter as a 23-year-old former student who purchased the weapons used in the attack recently and legally. An investigation into the deceased shooter's possible motive is ongoing.
MARTIN: For updates on the investigation and the people affected by yesterday's shooting, keep listening to your NPR station or go to npr.org. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.