'Suffering with them': Diocese of Austin asks for prayer after Minneapolis shooting

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AUSTIN (KXAN) — After a shooting at a Catholic School in Minneapolis left two children dead and more than a dozen others injured, the Diocese of Austin is asking its parishioners to pray for those impacted.

“It’s very, very tragic anytime something like this happens, you know, our hearts go out to the people who are affected so dearly. Particularly for us because it was a Catholic school, we feel a closeness,” Father James Misko, Diocesan Administrator for the Diocese of Austin, said.

The tragedy in Minneapolis happened during morning Mass, according to police. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the two children who died, 8 and 10 years old, were killed in the pews they were sitting in.

The suspected shooter is dead and while police declined to comment on a possible motive, FBI Director Kash Patel said the shooting is being investigated as an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics.

For the Diocese of Austin, which has Catholic schools within its own diocese, the news that a Catholic school was targeted hits especially close to home.

“All of our Catholic schools, and I think all of our schools in Central Texas, have a deep desire to protect the young people that we’re forming…so their safety is of the upmost importance,” Misko said. “So for our 19 Catholic schools we’ve already been visiting with our school principals, our school security officers to make sure that we are dotting our i’s and crossing our t’s.”

The Austin Police Department told KXAN it is monitoring the incident in Minneapolis and will continue to work closely with state and federal partners.

“At this time there are no known threats to the Austin community. APD will have increased patrols around places of worship. We always ask our community to be vigilant. It is imperative to call 9-1-1 if you observe any suspicious activities or become aware of potential threats,” APD said.

As for the Diocese of Austin, the message Wednesday is not political, it’s about compassion.

“Compassion is defined as suffering with, and so this is an opportunity for us — even though we may not know any of the students or the faculty or the administration there — but our hearts do hurt with them and we’re suffering with them through this tragic moment,” Misko said.

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