Minnesota school shooting came after bishops’ pleas for security went unanswered
Caroline MolloyAfter a pair of out-of-state school shootings in 2022 and 2023 shocked the nation, Minnesota’s bishops implored state lawmakers to provide security funding for local nonpublic schools.
Now, two years after their appeals went unheeded, tragedy has struck one of their own.
On the morning of Aug. 27, a gunman opened fire during an all-school Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, killing two students, aged 10 and 8; 14 other students and three adults were injured.
The tragedy comes after the Minnesota Catholic Conference (MCC), the public policy voice of Minnesota’s six dioceses, made requests to state officials to extend funds for security upgrades and emergency-response training to nonpublic schools in both 2022 and 2023.
The appeals, which came after deadly school shootings at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, argued that students at Catholic and other nonpublic schools should receive the same level of protection as their public-school peers.
“We need to ensure that all our schools have the resources to respond to and prevent these attacks from happening to our schools,” wrote Jason Adkins, MCC’s executive director, in an April 14, 2023, letter to Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who are both Democrats. The letter was also signed by Tim Benz, president of a Minnesota independent school organization.
If MCC’s request had been granted, Catholic schools like Annunciation would have been able to use state funds for enhancements like secure entries to facilities or even to hire school resource officers.
But the Minnesota bishops’ appeals were rebuffed in both years, as related bills stalled in the state Legislature, resulting in no additional funding for nonpublic school security. Meanwhile, for the 2023 legislative session, Minnesota enjoyed a historic $17.6 billion surplus.
In the aftermath of the Annunciation school shooting, the issue will assuredly be revisited — including why lawmakers failed to act on the bishops’ request.
Responding to a request for comment, Walz’s office underscored that the governor “cares deeply about the safety of students” and has “signed into law millions in funding for school safety.” The National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, confirmed, however, that none of the previously signed funding bills applied to nonpublic school safety.
