The mother of a 12-year-old girl critically injured in the South Minneapolis church shooting on Wednesday morning was working her shift in the pediatric intensive care unit of the same hospital where her daughter was rushed, according to a GoFundMe campaign launched for the family.
The girl, identified as Sophia Forchas, was among 18 people wounded when a gunman opened fire through the windows of Annunciation Catholic Church during morning Mass on August 27.
Authorities said the attacker, 23-year-old Robin Westman, killed an eight-year-old and a 10-year-old before dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Police confirmed that 15 of the injured were children, while three parishioners in their 80s were also struck by gunfire. All survivors are expected to recover, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara told reporters Wednesday. Westman was armed with a rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol at the time of the attack.
According to the GoFundMe campaign, Sophia and her younger brother both attended the school attached to the church, which serves children from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. The fundraiser states that Sophia was shot and critically injured during the attack and underwent emergency surgery before being placed in the ICU.
Her mother, a pediatric critical care nurse at Hennepin County Medical Center, had arrived for work that morning without realizing her children’s school had been targeted. “Before knowing it was her children’s school that was attacked, and that her daughter was critically injured, she had already begun her shift,” the campaign explained.
The fundraiser describes Sophia’s condition as critical but stable and emphasizes that her recovery will be long and uncertain. “Her road ahead will be long, uncertain, and incredibly difficult, but she is strong, and she is not alone,” organizers wrote.
Sophia’s younger brother was also inside the school when the shooting began. While physically unharmed, the campaign notes that the trauma of witnessing the attack — and seeing his sister critically injured — will require counseling and long-term support.
Father Timothy Sas of St. Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church, where Sophia and her family are longtime parishioners, confirmed in a Facebook post that he had spent much of Wednesday at the hospital with the family.
“Sophia was born and raised in our St. Mary’s parish, immersed in the life of the Church together with her extended family of several generations who are devoted members of our congregation,” Sas wrote.
The GoFundMe campaign, co-organized by Sophia’s father, Thomas Forchas, has raised more than $200,000 as of Thursday afternoon. Funds will go toward Sophia’s medical expenses, rehabilitation, and trauma counseling for both children, according to the page.
Hospital officials confirmed that Sophia’s mother remains employed in the pediatric ICU where her daughter is being treated. The family has asked for privacy as they focus on Sophia’s recovery.