Gunman kills two children in Minneapolis church, injures 17

A gunman opened fire Wednesday on school children attending a church service in Minneapolis, killing two pupils and wounding 17 children and adults, police said, in the latest violent tragedy to jolt the United States.

City police chief Brian O’Hara told a media briefing that the shooter sprayed bullets into the Annunciation Church as dozens of students were at a Mass marking their first week back to school.

The church sits next to an affiliated Catholic school in southern Minneapolis, the largest city in the Midwestern state of Minnesota.

“Two young children, ages eight and 10, were killed where they sat in the pews,” O’Hara said, adding that 17 people were injured, including 14 children.

Two were in critical condition, he said.

The gunman fired a rifle, shotgun and pistol before he