KSHB 41 reporter Elyse Schoenig covers the cities of Shawnee and Mission. She also focuses on issues surrounding the cost of health care, saving for retirement and personal debt. Share your story idea with Elyse.
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On Thursday, hundreds of people came to Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis to show their support for the two children murdered and 17 others hurt in a mass shooting.
Police said the shooter died after taking their own life.
Evidence shows the suspect expressed hate toward "almost every group of people.” Officers on scene recovered three shotgun shells, 116 rifle rounds, and one live round discovered in a handgun that malfunctioned.
Kansas City's Catholic community is one of many talking about how to increase security and prayer.
Father Mitchel Zimmerman of Saint Ann's Catholic Church in Prairie Village said his congregation had just finished their all-school mass when families learned of the shooting Wednesday.
"Just heartbroken for those families and those young kids," Zimmerman said.
The priest said the church and school held a security meeting right before his interview with KSHB 41. He said Saint Ann's already has an armed security guard during mass and recently added Prairie Village police officers to be at their public masses.
"We are going to reduce public access even more and add some eyes," Zimmerman said.
Zimmerman said turning to the church, and feeling safe in doing so, is important now more than ever.
"His love that we encounter when we worship together is really stronger than anything that can threaten us or pull us apart," Zimmerman said.
Sarah Haas belongs to St. James Catholic Church in Liberty, and her children attend its Catholic school. She had just wrapped up at her children's all-school mass when news of the Minneapolis shooting broke.
"It hit really close to home," Sarah Haas said.
Haas is married to an employee at KSHB 41. We connected with her to share her experience as a parent in the Catholic community.
For parents like Haas, the focus remains on maintaining faith while acknowledging the reality of security concerns.
"That's what we just have to continue to do, is pray and hope that the future brings more safety and more faith," Haas said.
She said this message of perseverance through prayer is what she's sharing with her children, and that even when words fail, their faith prevails.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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