One of the students severely wounded in last week’s mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School remains in critical condition Thursday, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Sophia Forchas was among the 21 people, 18 of them children, who were wounded on Aug. 27 by gunfire that also killed 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski.
On Tuesday, according to the official publication of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Bishop Michael Izen visited Sophia in the hospital and blessed her with holy water from Lourdes, France.
Also at the scene at the time of the shooting was Sophia’s younger brother, Anthony, a fundraising campaign on behalf of the Forchas family disclosed. It includes a photo of Sophia and Anthony, a fourth-grader, together outside the school and wearing their uniforms and big smiles.
John Kriesel, acting as a spokesman for the family, said there has been a social media posting circulating about Sophia that was not authorized by the family and includes inaccuracies about her medical situation. He said they will release a statement “at the appropriate time.”
“Sophia’s Dad asked me to share with everyone that her condition is stable but still critical and the family is asking you to keep praying for her. Lots of prayers,” he posted to X. “They are thankful for the love they have received from the community. Sophia is a fighter.”
Also among the shooting victims still hospitalized is Lydia Kaiser, who’s being treated at Children’s Minnesota, hospital spokesman Nick Petersen said.
Lydia’s family said in a statement that she sustained a traumatic brain injury and had surgery on the day of the shooting to remove bullet fragments. She and had a portion of her skull removed to alleviate the swelling and reduce the pressure on her brain caused by her injury. She is making remarkable progress in her recovery, it said, adding she will continue care at Children’s Minnesota.
