Sophia Forchas, a 12-year-old girl who was shot in the head when a suspect attacked children and adult worshipers at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis Aug. 27, is making “miraculous” progress in her healing journey.
“Your prayers have been powerful. Sophia surviving this horrific attack is a miracle,” the Forchas family said in a statement published Monday, Sept. 22. “Her healing progress is nothing short of miraculous; an undeniable testament to the mercy and intervention of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
“Each day we uncover new revelations of moments and circumstances that kept her alive and made her recovery possible,” said the family. “There are simply too many to be dismissed as coincidence. God has heard our prayers and wrapped Sophia in His healing embrace.”
Sophia Forchas Was Not Expected To Survive Annunciation Catholic School Shooting
On Wednesday, Aug. 27, approximately 200 Annunciation Catholic School students, not counting adults, were attending mass when a shooter opened fire through windows on the side of the church, killing an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old and injuring 18 children and three adults. Authorities initially said 17 total people were injured before revising that number.
RELATED: Gunman Kills 2 Children, Injures 17 at Catholic School—‘These Kids Were Literally Praying’
The suspect, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, was a former student at the school and former member of the church. Authorities said that Westman, who died at the scene of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, did not have a criminal history and reportedly purchased weapons legally.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said evidence showed Westman was interested in the plans of other mass shooters. “This was a deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshiping,” said O’Hara. “The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible.”
A GoFundMe campaign created for the Forchas family on Aug. 27 says:
Sophia was shot during the attack and is currently in critical condition in the ICU. She has already undergone emergency surgery, and her medical team is doing everything they can to stabilize her. Her road ahead will be long, uncertain, and incredibly difficult—but she is strong, and she is not alone.
According to the statement on the GoFundMe, Sophia’s 9-year-old brother was in the room with her when the shooter opened fire. “Though he was physically unharmed, the trauma of witnessing such a terrifying event—and knowing his sister was critically injured—is something no child should ever experience,” the statement said.
The statement also says that Sophia’s mother is a pediatric critical care nurse who “arrived at work to help during the tragedy, before knowing it was her children’s school that was attacked, and that her daughter was critically injured.”
“Her healing progress is nothing short of miraculous; an undeniable testament to the mercy and intervention of our Lord Jesus Christ,” said Sophia Forchas’ family.Click to Post
