Minneapolis Catholic schoolchildren listened to a prayer, then ducked for cover from gunfire

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — In the vaulted church of a Catholic school in Minneapolis, the pews were packed with teachers, parents and schoolchildren listening to a psalm on the third day of the new school year.

“For you darkness itself is not dark, and night shines as the day," a church member read to some 200 students Wednesday morning as sun streamed through stained glass windows.

Just before the congregants were to proclaim “Alleluia," bullets blasted through the windows.

“Down! Everybody down!” someone shouted as children ducked for cover behind wooden pews from a barrage of gunfire. One student threw himself on top of a friend and was shot in the back. A youth minister called her husband to say goodbye as bullets flew.

People used a wood plank to barricade a door and fled to a gymnasium. Sixth grader Chloe Francoual raced down a set of stairs and left behind a classmate in the rush before hiding in a room with a table barricading the door. She’d later tell her father that she thought she was going to die.

The shooting went on for several minutes, according to a man living near the church, who said he heard as many as 50 shots.

Two children, 8 and 10, were killed in the latest horrific school shooting in the United States, this time inside a church emblazoned with the words “This is the house of God and the Gate of Heaven." Seventeen others were wounded, including kids as young as 6 and parishioners in their 80s.

Dozens of law enforcement officers soon arrived to the school. Police said the suspect, Robin Westman, 23, was found dead by suicide behind the church. Westman's mother once worked there, but the shooter had no other known connection to the church. No motive has been revealed.

The student whose friend had shielded him, fifth grader Weston Halsne, told reporters in the aftermath outside the church that he sat just a few feet from the windows shattered by the blasts.

“My friend Victor, like, saved me, though, because he laid on top of me,” the 10-year-old said. “He’s really brave, and I hope he’s good in the hospital."

His mother met him outside, wrapping him in a hug.

Fourteen of the wounded victims were kids, ranging in age from 6 to 15. Police said all are expected to survive.

Vincent Francoual said his daughter still struggles to communicate clearly about the traumatizing scene, her father said.

“It’s too much to process,” he said.

Outside the church and school was a milling of emotion. Parents embraced children and other parents. Heavily armored law enforcement officers walked around as police cordoned off the crime scene.

Many knew each other well. It’s a tight-knit community built around the century-old Catholic school and parish, a city suburb better described as a small town. It’s towering belfry rings over the neighborhood of tidy homes and grass lawns, as it did after the shooting Wednesday.

God wasn’t far from people’s minds. Some had questions, others sought peace and healing.

“I’m just asking (God), ‘Why?' right now. It’s little kids,” said Aubrey Pannhoff, 16, a student at a nearby Catholic school who stood at the edge of the police cordon.

History’s first American Pope, Leo XIV, said he was praying for the families of those dead and injured in the “terrible tragedy.”

The Rev. Dennis Zehren was to give a sermon to the congregation that Wednesday. At the vigil held later that night, his face and eyes were red against his white vestments.

When asked what he planned to tell the students on their first week of school, emotion choked his voice.

Archbishop Bernard Hebda addressed some 2,000 people at the vigil, where psalms were sung and the silences burrowed deep in the wide room.

“I can understand why someone could resonate with the Psalmist’s question: 'Why, oh God, have you forgotten me?” Hebda said. “The example of Mary, a mother and a disciple who knew great suffering in her own life, should give each of us courage and hope.”

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey speaks as people gather at a vigil at Lynnhurst Park after a shooting at the Annunciation Catholic School Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

People gather at a vigil at Lynnhurst Park after a shooting at the Annunciation Catholic School Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

People gather at a vigil at Lynnhurst Park after a shooting at the Annunciation Catholic School Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

People gather at a vigil at Lynnhurst Park after a shooting at the Annunciation Catholic School Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

People gather at a vigil at Lynnhurst Park after a shooting at the Annunciation Catholic School, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

BOSTON (AP) — When Zdeno Chara signed with the Boston Bruins in 2006, the No. 3 he wore early in his career had already been retired by the Original Six franchise.

So he picked No. 33 without giving it much thought.

“Little did I know how meaningful 33 was,” Chara said on Thursday night before his number was raised to the TD Garden rafters not far from where Larry Bird's No. 33 already hangs in Celtics green.

It is the 13th number retired by the Bruins, and the latest in a collection of Hall of Fame defenseman that runs from Eddie Shore to Bobby Orr to Raymond Bourque.

“It's a huge honor,” Chara told reporters. "I can’t explain to you how honored I feel. I’m humbled about being selected to be one of the numbers being retired. Being with that history, forever."

The 2009 Norris Trophy winner and a 2025 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, Chara spent 14 of his 24 NHL seasons in Boston, leading the Bruins to the 2011 Stanley Cup championship. His 1,680 games is the most of any NHL defenseman; at 6 feet, 9 inches (2.06m), he is the tallest player in league history, and his 108.8 mph (175.1 kmh) slap shot in the 2012 skills competition remains the NHL record.

But his teammates and other Bruins attending Thursday's ceremony said Chara's biggest contribution was signing with a team that hadn't won a playoff series in six years — “the best decision I ever made” — and turning them into champions.

“Things really changed when Zee came here as a free agent,” Bourque said. "From that point on, the culture and everything that comes with that, and the success and the run that they had, he was such a big part of that.

“He’s a legend,” Bourque said. “He really deserves to be up there.”

Bourque was among the former Bruins greats in attendance, along with Orr — both of them, like Chara, Boston defensemen who finished their careers elsewhere on their way to the Hall of Fame. They arrived via gold carpet that led them past adoring fans and the statue of Orr flying through the air following his Cup-winning goal in the 1970 finals.

Other fellow retired number honorees in attendance included Cam Neely, Willie O’Ree, Rick Middleton, Terry O'Reilly and John Bucyk. The current Bruins sat on the bench, all wearing Chara jerseys.

Five members of the 2011 roster — Patrice Bergeron, Mark Recchi, Dennis Seidenberg, David Krejci and Tuukka Rask — carried the retired number onto the ice, and teammate Andrew Ference served as emcee.

In his speech, Chara read the names of every player on the Bruins last Cup winners. Asked why, he said after: “Without championships, you are not going to be successful, you’re not going to be recognized.

"The championships, that’s what they do. They raise everyone, they extend careers for everyone,” he explained. "They create dynasties. They create stories. They create memories. They created what we’re experiencing tonight.

"It’s very simple: Once you win the championship, everything gets so much better for everyone. And the most beautiful thing about it: You create extended families with each other. It’s true. You have bonds, you have friendships that are now still forever. It’s amazing; it’s like you’re seeing your brother. You trust the person; you know everything about them. And anytime anybody needs something, you’re there for them.

“That’s what winning championships do,” he said. “Not just for a career, but for the rest of your lives, it means something very special.”

The ceremony at center ice featured a “Big Zee” ice sculpture flanking the podium and a large No. 33 behind it. Fans were asked to get in their seats two hours early, and the full TD Garden erupted in a giant shout of “Zee!” followed by an extended cheer of “Thank you, Chara!”

A highlight video featured former Bruins Brad Marchand and current coach Marco Sturm, Chara's teammate from 2006-10. Many of them spoke of the way Chara led by example.

“He wasn’t really a ‘Rah, rah!’ guy,” former Bruins forward and current team president Neely said, “but when he spoke, it was with a purpose.”

And so, when it was time to raise his No. 33 to the rafters, Chara stood by with his wife, Tatiana, while their children — Zack, Ben and Elliz — pulled the ropes.

“That’s the biggest reward for me: To see my children and my family doing it instead of me. I think I get better joy watching them doing it than the joy of me doing it because it's so much more meaningful,” he explained. "They deserve that more than me."

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Former Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara speaks during his number retirement ceremony before an NHL hockey game between the Boston Bruins and the Seattle Kraken Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Former Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara leads his family over to his number "33" to raise it to the rafters before an NHL hockey game between the Boston Bruins and the Seattle Kraken, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Former Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, center, waves to the crowd during his number retirement ceremony, as Bruins' players with their number already retired, from left, Willie O'Ree, Rick Middleton, Terrry O'Reilly, Cam Neely, emcee Andrew Ferrance and Bobby Orr look on before an NHL hockey game between the Boston Bruins and the Seattle Kraken, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Former Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara's number "33" is raised to the rafters at TD Garden before an NHL hockey game between the Boston Bruins and the Seattle Kraken Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Bobby Orr applauds, left bottom, as former Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara waves to the crowd during his number retirement ceremony before an NHL hockey game between the Boston Bruins and the Seattle Kraken, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)