They were praying when they were struck by gunfire. These are the victims of the Minneapolis church shooting

CBJ: As you read further, you will discover first-hand courage in young children amid a horrific tragedy and the Enduring Power of family faith and prayer, nurtured by good Catholic education…

CNN—Before Endre Gunter was taken to emergency surgery to treat a gunshot wound to the stomach, the 13-year-old boy asked a surgeon to pause for a moment.

“Can you say a prayer with me?,” he said, according to his aunt, Natalie Davis, who wrote about the exchange on a GoFundMe page to help with the boy’s medical bills.

“The surgeon later told us that not only did Endre survive the surgery, he fought through a terrifying event with courage that inspired the entire medical team,” she said. “That moment of prayer, and Endre’s resilience, will stay with our family forever.”

The young teen is one of 18 people, most of them children, who were wounded Wednesday after a shooter opened fire through the windows of a Minneapolis church, where students like Endre and faculty from Annunciation Catholic School were marking the first week of classes.

Two children, ages 8 and 10, were killed. Hours after the Wednesday shooting, they were remembered at multiple vigils in Minneapolis by community members carrying flickering candles in their hands.

“What’s particularly heinous and cowardly about this is these children were slaughtered by a shooter who could not see them,” Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said during a news briefing Thursday.

The shooter “was standing outside of the building firing through very narrow church windows on the level where they would line up with the pews,” O’Hara added.

As several of those injured remain hospitalized, including one in critical condition, here’s what we know about the victims… Click to Read More- well worth the read! Tragic and Absolutely Inspiring):

RELATED RESOURCES:

• Heartfelt MN Annunciation Catholic parish school Letter after tragic school shooting – Catholic Business Journal
• Minnesota School Shooting came after bishops pleas for security went unanswered – Catholic Business Journal