Two children dead, 17 people injured in shooting at Minnesota Catholic school

The children who died were aged eight and 10

A parent hugs her son during a shooting at the Annunciation Church in Minneapolis. Picture: Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via AP

A gunman opened fire with a rifle on Wednesday through the windows of a Catholic church in Minneapolis and struck some of the nearly 200 children celebrating Mass during the first week of school, killing two and wounding 17 people in an act of violence the police chief called “absolutely incomprehensible”.

Armed with a rifle, shotgun and pistol, 23-year-old Robin Westman approached the side of the church and shot dozens of rounds through the windows towards the children sitting in the pews during Mass at the Annunciation Catholic School just before 8.30am local time, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said at a news conference. He said the gunman then died by suicide.