Students were running late for the first Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis. The service had begun and worshippers finished the psalm "You have Searched Me and You Know Me Lord" when shots rang out. Many first thought the noises were firecrackers, but the sound proved to be gunfire. Attendees dove to the ground as the principal shouted for people to get down. Two children were killed—10-year-old Harper Moyski and 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel—and eighteen others were injured, including three parishioners in their 80s and fifteen children. The attack shattered the long-standing sense of peace around Annunciation Catholic School.
The students were running a little late for their first Mass of the school year at the Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis on Wednesday. "I checked my watch, it was supposed to start at 8:15. It was 8:18 and they were still filing in," Cathrine Spandel told NPR on Thursday outside of the church's large stained glass windows. One student was admonished for failing to genuflect before going into the pews, she recalled. Spandel was in church that day for the Mass and fellowship.
The ceremony had begun and the worshippers finished the psalm "You have Searched Me and You Know Me Lord" when the shots rang out. Spandel first thought it was firecrackers. A prank, she said. But she soon realized it was gunfire. "Even before the principal yelled, 'Get down!' I flew to the ground," she said. What unfolded was a shooting that left two children dead, including 10-year-old Harper Moyski and 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel, who was sitting just four pews in front of Spandel.
Eighteen more people were hurt in the violence, including three adult parishioners who were in their 80s and 15 children, authorities said. It also shattered the sense of peace in the community around Annunciation Catholic School, which has seen generations of students move through its doors. Spandel is an alumni herself. She graduated in 1973 and has remained an active member of the parish.
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