When the familiar sounds of a Minneapolis morning were shattered by rapid gunfire, Pat Scallen’s instincts kicked in. The pops were unsettling, foreign to the quiet neighborhood. “I didn’t know exactly what it was at first,” he recalled, “but after about the 10th shot, I knew something was wrong.”
What he discovered around the corner at the Annunciation Catholic School and Church was a scene of unimaginable horror and quiet bravery. The community had been targeted during a Wednesday morning Mass that celebrated the first week of school—a time meant for joy and new beginnings.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – AUGUST 27: Police work the scene following a mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School on August 27, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. According to Minneapolis Police, a gunman fired through the windows of the Annunciation Church at worshippers sitting in pews during a Catholic school Mass, killing two children and injuring at least 17 others. The gunman reportedly died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
Streaming from the doors of the sacred building were children, some with emotional scars, others with devastating physical wounds. Scallen’s eyes fell on a boy and a girl, each shot in the head. Another young girl was bleeding from a gunshot to the neck. Amid the chaos of screaming parishioners and first responders, a profound, eerie quiet hung over the area where the victims lay.
“They were very frightened. They wanted their mom and dad,” Scallen said. “And I just, I sat them down and just tried to keep them calm, and I was watching them close to see if there’d be any change in their status.”
In that moment of sheer terror, a small voice cut through the noise. The young girl with a head wound looked up and made a simple, heartbreaking request: “Please just hold my hand.”
His response was a testament to humanity in the face of inhumanity. “I did,” he said.
The police confirmed the devastating toll: an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old, who had been sitting peacefully in the pews, were killed. Seventeen others were injured when the shooter, identified by the FBI as 23-year-old Robin Westman, opened fire through a church window. Fourteen of the wounded were children between the ages of 6 and 15. The three injured adults were parishioners in their 80s. Authorities have stated all surviving victims are expected to recover. The shooter died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and a motive remains under investigation.
Through the grief, the spirit of the community, which Scallen describes as “integral to the neighborhood,” remains unbroken. The Annunciation Catholic School is more than a building; it is the heart of the area.
“There’s a spirit here, and I know they’ll be grieving for awhile,” Scallen said, his voice steady with conviction. “But this place, they’ll come back.”