Distraught parents condemned a horror shooting in Minneapolis at a parish school church holding its start-of-year mass.
One parent inside the Annunciation Catholic Church said the shooting began as children and their families were packed into pews to start the service.
‘He just pepper-sprayed through the stained-glass windows into the building, 50 to 100 shots,’ the parent, who did not want his name used, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
‘This is terrible,’ he added. ‘This is evil. I don’t know how you defend against this.’
The outlet also reported a young boy being led away from the scene by his father was heard telling him: ‘I don’t feel safe.’
Jason Johnson, a caseworker who works nearby, said the gruesome shooting is especially emotional for him as a new father of a two-year-old girl.
‘This is a place where children should be safe,’ he said.
It comes as officials said at least two children have been killed after a gunman stormed the Catholic church.
The shooter, dressed in all black and reportedly armed with a semiautomatic weapon, ‘pepper-sprayed’ bullets through the stained glass windows.
At least 20 people are feared to have been gunned down in the incident, although authorities have not yet confirmed how many victims there are.
Multiple children have been taken to a nearby hospital, law enforcement sources told KARE. It is unclear exactly how many children have been hurt.
Minnesota state troopers, local police, FBI agents, SWAT officers, paramedics and a large number of ambulances are currently at the scene.
The gunman is dead, law enforcement sources told FOX 9. The Daily Mail has approached the church and local police for further information.
Kevin Kenney, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, told the Star Tribune that he headed over to the scene after hearing of the shooting to try to help console witnesses.
He said he had spoken with two families with loved ones that were involved, ‘just to give them some kind of hope on such a devastating situation.’
Kenney added that some children were waiting to hear how their brothers or sisters were doing, and described the aftermath as ‘horrific.’
Many of the families are ‘in shock, disbelief,’ he said, and were trying to come to terms with the tragedy that came as they were celebrating the start of the school year.
The exact number of injured and deceased is not yet clear, although the Children’s Minnesota Hospital confirmed it was treating five kids.
The hospital said in a statement: ‘Children’s Minnesota is aware of the recent tragic shooting in Minneapolis. Our teams are trained to respond in times of crisis, and are fully prepared to care for impacted children. Currently, five children are admitted to our hospital for care. We will not share more details to respect the privacy of our patients and families.’