A Minneapolis Catholic school’s first week of classes ended in tragedy when a gunman opened fire, killing two people and injuring 20 more, authorities said.

A Minneapolis Catholic school’s first week of classes ended in tragedy when a gunman opened fire during a church service on Wednesday, killing two children and injuring 17 others, police said.

Authorities said the shooter, a man in his early twenties, entered Annunciation Church next to the affiliated school in south Minneapolis and fired a rifle, shotgun, and pistol into the pews, where dozens of pupils were attending Mass. Police confirmed he later took his own life in the parking lot.

“Two young children, ages eight and 10, were killed where they sat in the pews,” Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said, adding that 14 of the wounded were children, with two in critical condition.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz wrote on X that he was “praying for our kids and teachers whose first week of school was marred by this horrific act of violence.”

Live video showed panicked parents rushing to collect their children as emergency crews swarmed the area.