Aug. 27—ROCHESTER — Rochester Catholic Schools informed its students and families that it was going into “secure mode” on Wednesday following a school shooting in Minneapolis.
According to a notice from RCS, all the doors of its school buildings were locked “for the duration of the day,” and no one would be allowed to leave out of “an abundance of caution.”
“We understand that news of incidents like this can be deeply unsettling,” RCS President Tina Monosmith said in the statement. “Please know that the safety of our students and staff is our top priority, and we take every precaution to ensure their well-being.”
In addition to going into lockdown, the school system suspended outdoor activities and recess. It also canceled all after-school activities.
Two children, ages 8 and 10, were killed in the Minneapolis shooting on Wednesday morning at the Annunciation Catholic School and Church. Police say the suspected shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene. Seventeen others, including 14 children, were injured.
“As a fellow Catholic school community, we extend our deepest prayers and heartfelt condolences to the families, staff, students and parishioners impacted by this profound loss,” Monosmith wrote in a second communication the district released on Wednesday.
The Minnesota Department of Education said in a statement that it is “closely monitoring the situation” and that it stands “ready to support Annunciation and the broader community as they respond to this tragedy.”
Rochester Public Schools Superintendent Kent Pekel also released a statement in response to the shooting. He said the Rochester Police Department had instructed its officers to increase the patrols near the district’s school and that the school resource officers working in the buildings were placed on heightened alert.
“We continually review and reinforce safety protocols in every one of our schools and programs,” Pekel wrote in the statement. “This summer, we collaborated with local and national law enforcement agencies and emergency services providers to conduct a simulation of the ways we would respond to an event like one that occurred today in Minneapolis. We hope and believe that will never happen in Rochester, but we prepare for it nonetheless.”
In 2022, local law enforcement agencies responded to Rochester Catholic Schools’ Lourdes High School following a report of a shooter that turned out to be part of a larger “swatting incident,” meaning it was a false alarm.