Officials said on Thursday that the actions of first responders, doctors, teachers and the children themselves during Wednesday’s mass shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school helped save lives. Hennepin County EMS Chief Marty Scheerer said, "We had one kid that covered up another kid and took a shotgun blast to his back."
All 18 people hospitalized in the shooting are expected to survive, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara told CNN late Wednesday.
O’Hara said some of the 14 injured children have already been released from the hospital, noting that injuries ranged from minor graze wounds to life-threatening cases.
In addition to the 14 children and three adults wounded in the attack, an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old were killed. The suspected shooter, Robert Westman — also known as Robin Westman — died by suicide. Police said he was armed with three different firearms during the shooting.
Hennepin Healthcare announced on Thursday morning that it was caring for nine patients from Wednesday's shooting. Of those, two are in serious condition and one is in critical condition.
School leaders have not announced when classes will resume. "As we process and navigate this unfathomable time together, we will be in touch this weekend regarding when school will resume. Investigators and others are still on campus doing their essential work and we expect this to continue for some time," principal Matthew D. DeBoer and Pastor Dennis Zehren wrote in a joint statement.
Officials plan to provide an update during a 1 p.m. Central time news conference.
