(SOUNDBITE OF CHURCH BELL RINGING)
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Bells toll the hour today at the Church of the Annunciation in Minneapolis. It was the site of a shooting during the first Mass of the school year yesterday. Two children were killed, and authorities now say 15 students along with three adults were injured by gunfire. Joining us now from outside the church is NPR religion correspondent Jason DeRose. Hi, Jason.
JASON DEROSE, BYLINE: Hi, Ailsa.
CHANG: Can we just first start with those who were injured? What do we know as of now?
DEROSE: Well, at Children's Hospital here, one child remains hospitalized. Others were treated and discharged. At another hospital, Hennepin Healthcare, six shooting victims there are in satisfactory condition, two are in serious condition, and one child remains in critical condition. Hospital staff today praised law enforcement for acting quickly, and they praised students and teachers who protected each other when the shooting began just after morning Mass started on Wednesday.
CHANG: I know you're at the church right now. Can you just tell us - what is it like there at the moment?
DEROSE: Well, throughout the day, hundreds of people from the community and surrounding communities have come to bring flowers - buckets of flowers, stuffed animals, notes. One of the flower arrangements says from the people of Uvalde, the site of another mass shooting just a few years ago. There are two small placards to commemorate the two children who were killed. The signs read, this area reserved for 10-year-old student's name, and this area reserved for 8-year-old student's name. That's because officials haven't yet released the names of the two who were killed. And students and parents and friends of the school have been stopping by to write messages on those placards. Michael Burt is a father of five kids who attend the school.
MICHAEL BURT: The first action by those middle schoolers was to push their buddies down under the pew, and then covering the little ones under the pews, which is (crying) why the middle schoolers were the ones that were standing the longest and were largely the injured.
CHANG: Just horrific. I understand, Jason, that you spoke with one of the children who was inside the church during the Mass, right?
DEROSE: Right. Rosie Stiggey is 8 years old. She just began third grade and was sitting with her class yesterday morning during the first Mass of the school year.
ROSIE STIGGEY: So we were, like, just in the middle of Mass. And then, like, big - like, the sound went on. And then it was, like, really smoky, and we all had to, like, run to preschool rooms. And the police came and got him.
DEROSE: Rosie's father is Brandon Stiggey. He says he brought his daughter back here today because she wanted to show how much she cares about the school and her friends.
BRANDON STIGGEY: 'Cause it's just a beautiful community. The teachers, the - (crying) yeah. The kids truly come first. And they really care about every single one of them. So we're lucky to go to this school.
STIGGEY: And that's really what I've been hearing from so many parents and children today, that this school always felt safe and that the children and parents and teachers deeply care for each other. You know, there's one of those digital signs in front of the school that has different messages sort of on a loop. And one of those messages is a quote from the prophet Isaiah - sort of a motto for the school and the school year. And it reads, a future filled with hope. Now, several people who were looking at that sign with me said through their tears that they were still trying to stay hopeful, despite what happened here just a day earlier.
CHANG: So what can we expect in the community in the next few days, do you think?
DEROSE: Well, there are more vigils scheduled for the coming days and, of course, funerals for the two children who were killed.
CHANG: Right.
DEROSE: Meanwhile, police say they're still looking for a motive for the 23-year-old shooter who they now say attended the school as a child, and we know that the shooter's mother worked at the church and school until she retired just a few years ago.
CHANG: That is NPR's Jason DeRose in Minneapolis. Thank you so much, Jason.
DEROSE: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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