School shooting in Minneapolis leaves community shook

The city of Minneapolis was rocked by a school shooting yesterday, which took the lives of two children and injured seventeen others. For context, Annunciation is a Catholic school in Minneapolis, which has had roots for over one hundred years within the community. It serves children from pre-K to middle school.

The shooter, Robin Westman, began his rampage while around two hundred children were in mass, starting their day. He took his own life at the scene afterwards. This experience has damaged the community in a way that is indescribable, with two families having to mourn the loss of their children, and many more being forced to confront the fear of losing their own.

Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey released a fiery statement in response to the tragedy, stating, "Don’t just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now, these kids were literally praying. It was the first week of school, they were in a church.” He stated afterwards that real action was needed instead of the usual, which includes mental health checks in schools and gun control.

This has triggered another discussion about greater gun control in the country, with the shooter using a rifle bought legally, along with a shotgun and a pistol. Currently, the Minneapolis community has to find a way to recover from the incident, but parents in the city, and likely across the country, will be on edge for the foreseeable future.