A Minneapolis nurse’s worst nightmare: a mother in the ICU sees her daughter among the injured youngsters in a church massacre.
Amy Forchas, a pediatric nurse in Minneapolis, was on her usual morning shift when she found out that her hospital was taking care of people who had been shot in a big shooting at the school where her kids go to school.
Mom is at the front lines
On Wednesday morning, Amy went to Hennepin Healthcare as ambulances started to arrive from Annunciation Catholic School and Church. A gunman had locked the doors and shot between 50 and 100 times into the church’s stained-glass windows. Sophia’s 12-year-old daughter was hurt quite badly. Her mother was working in the ICU next door when she had to have surgery right soon.
A family member said during a fundraising, “Her mother went to work to help during the tragedy, not knowing that her daughter was in serious danger and that her school had been attacked.”
Family and friends noted that Sophia’s recovery would take a long time and be full of surprises, but they are still hopeful. Her little brother or sister was there too when it happened. He didn’t get hurt, but he’s having a hard time dealing with the stress of seeing the attack and knowing that his sister almost perished.
People all throughout the world are praying for you.
Father Timothy Sas of St. Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church, where the Forchas family has been members for a long time, asked people to pray for the girl’s health.
“If there was anything beyond sketchy, somebody would have called long before now.”
Residents recall Robin Westman as ordinary tenant before deadly Catholic school attack. pic.twitter.com/hDv55EYUZe
— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 28, 2025
He remarked, “Sophia was born and raised in our parish, where she and her extended family of several generations lived the life of the Church.” “Her family and I are thankful for all the prayers from around the world.”
A tragedy at Annunciation
The event happened at 8:30 a.m., as kids were getting ready for the first Mass of the school year. The authorities said that Robin Westman, who was 23 years old and changed his name from Robert in 2019, was the shooter. They said he had a pistol, a shotgun, and a rifle.
Two children, ages 8 and 10, died in their seats. At least 17 other people were hurt, including 14 kids and three senior folks who were at church. The emergency transmission audio showed medics quickly begging for “all the gauze you have” as they rushed to save the injured.
Westman shot himself in the head and died soon after the attack started. Later, officials said that it was legal to buy all of the rifles. They also said that the assailant had a personal link to the church: his mother, Mary Grace Westman, was the parish secretary at Annunciation until she retired in 2021.
A community in grief
The first week of school should have been a pleasant time for families in Minneapolis, but now it is a time of pain and disbelief. The Forchas family is nervously waiting at Sophia’s bedside, and parents who used to send their kids to school are hugging them tighter than ever.
Supporters stated, “She is strong and not alone.” The city is still working together to help the victims of a disaster that has left permanent scars on a religious community.