Grief turns to hope as Minneapolis rallies behind kids hurt in school shooting
People gather at Lynhurst Park where a candle light vigil was being held for the victims of the Annunciation Catholic School shooting in Minneapolis. (Christopher Mark Juhn/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(MINNEAPOLIS) — Over 100 people gathered across the street from the children’s ward at Minneapolis’ Hennepin County Medical Center to pray for the kids recovering there after they were shot at the Annunciation Catholic School this week.
Teachers, students and nurses, as well as police officers who had heard about the Thursday night candlelight vigil over their dispatch radios, all joined together for a moment of silence, united in a shared sense of grief and hope after Wednesday’s mass shooting.
“This is every nurse/mother’s worst nightmare, and worst fear come true,” a flyer for the vigil said. “We’d like anyone who is interested to come join us to light up [Minneapolis] with candlelight, love, and support, for the kids, their families and our staff.”
One of those victims is 12-year-old Sophia Forchas, who is in critical condition after undergoing surgery. It’s a tragedy that struck her entire family at once — her younger brother was inside Annunciation Catholic School at the time of the shooting and her mom is a pediatric nurse at the hospital where Sophia was admitted.
“Sofia’s mother was called into work, and only to find out when she arrived that her daughter was one of the victims, unfortunately,” Father Timothy Sas of St. Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church told ABC News.
“No priest is ever prepared enough to offer consolation for a moment like this,” he said.
He described Sophia as “luminous” and “bright,” an active student at school and in church.
“She’s pulled through, and we need about two, three days before they can understand what her future prognosis is,” he said.
Eighteen people — including 15 kids — were injured. All injured victims are expected to survive, police said.
The 23-year-old shooter, who previously attended the school, died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said. A motive remains unknown.
(NEW YORK) — A dangerous heat wave is moving in, with more than 100 million people from the Midwest to the Northeast on alert for life-threatening temperatures.
The widespread heat alerts are first impacting Midwest states including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska and South Dakota. The heat index — what the temperature feels like with humidity — could reach 110 degrees on Friday and Saturday.
Central U.S. cities like Denver and Minneapolis could shatter heat records this weekend. In the Chicago area, the heat index could hit 105 degrees from Saturday to Monday.
The South will also be feeling the heat. The heat index is forecast to hit 104 degrees in Nashville, Tennessee, and Louisville, Kentucky, on Sunday and Tuesday.
The dangerous and record-shattering heat will shift east by the end of the weekend and the start of next week. Daily record highs are possible from Detroit to Raleigh, North Carolina, to Boston on Monday and Tuesday.
In New York City, the heat index is expected to skyrocket to 103 degrees, 107 degrees and 105 degrees from Sunday to Tuesday. In Washington, D.C, the heat index is forecast to jump to 103 degrees, 107 degrees and 108 degrees.
Boston could feel like 102 degrees on Tuesday.
Heat indices up to 107 are also possible in cities including Detroit, Cleveland, Ohio, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia from Sunday to Wednesday.
Doctors recommend taking excessive heat warnings seriously. Over 700 people die from heat-related illnesses every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and extreme heat is considered the deadliest weather-related hazard in the U.S., according to the Fifth National Climate Assessment.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino. Courtesy Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images
(TRAVERSE CITY, Mich.) — Authorities were searching for the 42-year-old suspect in Saturday’s Michigan Walmart stabbing rampage less than 24 hours before the incident, the Emmet County Sheriff’s Office said in a release on Monday.
The sheriff’s office on Friday received a court order from the State of Michigan 7th Probate Court of Emmet County instructing that Bradford James Gille be taken into custody, according to the release.
Sheriff’s deputies spent Friday and Saturday patrolling and actively searching for Gille, whom the order identified as homeless. The sheriff’s office did not say why the court order was issued.
“Regrettably, less than 24 hours after receiving this order, a tragic series of events occurred in Traverse City,” the sheriff’s office said in the release. “Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved in this devastating situation.”
Gille, whom authorities said was from Cheboygan County, Michigan, facing charges of terrorism and assault with intent to murder after he allegedly stabbed 11 people at a Walmart store in Michigan and was apprehended by a group of citizens, including one armed with a gun, authorities said on Sunday.
The suspect allegedly entered the Walmart store in Traverse City, about 150 miles north of Grand Rapids, around 4:10 p.m. on Saturday and began attacking people with a folding knife, Grand Traverse County Sheriff Michael Shea said at a news conference on Sunday afternoon.
“It appears that these were all random acts,” said Shea, adding that the attacks began near the checkout area.
Shea said investigators are combing through security video that recorded nearly all of the attack.
Witnesses helped law enforcement officers stop the attack and take the suspect in custody, Shea said.
Bystander video that surfaced online and was confirmed as authentic by the sheriff showed a group of citizens, including one who drew a handgun on the suspect, forcing him to drop his knife.
“What they did was amazing,” said Shea, adding that the citizens likely saved others from being attacked.
Shea said a sheriff’s deputy who was near the Walmart at the time of the attack responded to the scene in less than a minute and placed the suspect under arrest.
A motive for the attack remains under investigation, Shea said.
Shea said the suspect attacked the victims without any warning and without making any verbal threats. He said one person was stabbed just outside the store, another was stabbed in the vestibule of the store and the remaining nine victims were attacked inside the store.
The victims, six men and four women, ranged in ages from 29 to 84, Shea said, with three of the victims in their 80s and one in his 70s.
The victims were taken to Munson Medical Center in Traverse City, with six of them initially listed in critical condition and the remaining five in serious condition, authorities said Saturday.
“Over the past 12 hours, we’ve seen encouraging signs of recovery from our patients,” Munson Healthcare said in an updated statement on Sunday morning, which noted that seven of the stabbing victims were in fair condition and four were in serious condition. Officials said during the Sunday afternoon press conference that five of the stabbing victims were now in fair condition, four were in serious condition and one had been released from the hospital.
Shea said no other suspects are being sought in the attack: “We believe he acted alone at this time.”
Grand Traverse County Prosecuting Attorney Noelle Moeggenberg said during Sunday’s press conference that Gille is expected to be arraigned on Monday. Moeggenberg said he’s charged with terrorism because he allegedly attempted to strike fear in the community.
“Thankfully no one else was injured,” the sheriff said, adding, “Eleven is 11 too many but thank God it wasn’t more.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement on X that she was monitoring the situation.
“I’m in touch with law enforcement about the horrible news out of Traverse City. Our thoughts are with the victims and the community reeling from this brutal act of violence,” she said.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said in a statement on social media that FBI personnel responded to the scene, “to provide any necessary support to the Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Office in their investigation of the attacks at the Walmart.”
In a statement, a Walmart spokesperson said “Violence like this is unacceptable. Our thoughts are with those who were injured and we’re thankful for the swift action of first responders. We’ll continue working closely with law enforcement during their investigation.”
(NEW YORK) — More than 185 million people across from South Dakota to Florida and up the East Coast to Boston are on alert for widespread, dangerous heat on Monday and into the new work week, and parts of the Southeast could experience the brunt of the sweltering conditions.
On average, nearly 2,000 Americans die from extreme heat each year, according to CDC data going back to 2020.
The highest temperatures on Monday will be focused in the southeast from the Carolinas to Florida where extreme where heat indices — that is, what the temperatures feel like when humidity is factored in — are forecast to be between 105 and 113 degrees.
Parts of Mississippi and Louisiana are on alert for heat indices up to 120 degrees.
Extreme heat is also expected to continue on Monday and Tuesday in the Midwest, where over the weekend temperatures felt between 97 to 111 degrees from Lincoln, Nebraska, up into Minneapolis.
The Northeast coast from Philadelphia to Boston, including New York City, are in store for multiple days of dangerous heat. Heat indices in the Northeast are forecast to make it feel like the mid-90s to 113 on Monday.
In addition to the sweltering condition, smoke from Canadian wildfires is expected to continue to create hazy conditions in New York City, New Jersey and Connecticut. Over the weekend, smoke from multiple wildfires in Canada prompted an air-quality alert.
Looking ahead to the work week, potentially life-threatening heat and humidity are expected to continue across the eastern half of the country through Wednesday. Major cities including St. Louis, Memphis, Charlotte, Savannah, Tampa, and Jackson, Mississippi, are all likely all see actual temperatures in the upper 90s to low 100s. A prolonged heat wave is forecast for those regions as an abundance of tropical moisture settling in is expected to drive the feels-like temperatures up to between 105 to 115 degrees over multiple consecutive days.
Nighttime and early mornings are not expected to provide relief from the sweltering conditions. Overnight and early morning lows are expected to fall only to the 70s or higher.
Between Monday and Wednesday, large portions of the Southeast are expected to be under an extreme heat risk at a four-out-of-four level, including the cities of Atlanta, Charlotte, and Jacksonville and Tallahassee, Florida.
On Sunday, Tampa, Florida, broke an all-time heat record — reaching 100 degrees for the first time in 130 years of recordkeeping.
