In a twist that no parent could ever imagine, a mom working as a pediatric critical care nurse found herself in the middle of unimaginable heartbreak. Her 12-year-old daughter, Sophia Forchas, was one of the kids rushed to the hospital after a horrific shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Richfield, Minnesota, on August 27, 2025. Sophia ended up in the very ICU where her mother was on shift that day.
The attack left two young children dead—an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old—and injured 17 others, most of them kids. It happened during morning Mass at the church, which also houses a school for pre-K through eighth graders.
The shooter, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, fired through the windows with a rifle, shotgun, and pistol, according to police. Thankfully, all the injured are expected to make it, including three elderly parishioners in their 80s, as Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara shared.
Sophia, a seventh-grader, was critically hurt and needed emergency surgery right away. She’s now recovering in the ICU, but her family knows the journey ahead will be tough—full of uncertainty and challenges. “She’s strong, though, and she’s got a lot of people rooting for her,” says a GoFundMe page set up to help the family.
What makes this story even more gut-wrenching is the mom’s situation. She clocked in for her shift at Hennepin County Medical Center without a clue that the chaos unfolding was at her own kids’ school. Her younger son was there too, dodging the danger but left scarred by the terror of it all—watching the violence and knowing his sister was badly hurt. No kid should have to go through something like that.
The family has deep roots in the community. Sophia grew up in St. Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church in Minneapolis, surrounded by generations of devoted family members. Father Timothy Sas from the parish spent much of the day at the hospital with them and shared a touching note on Facebook: “Sophia was born and raised in our St. Mary’s parish, immersed in the life of the Church.”v
Outside the school, flowers piled up as the community grieved, and law enforcement combed the neighborhood to make sure it was safe. Photos from the scene show officers on alert and a somber perimeter marked by tributes.
The GoFundMe, organized with Sophia’s dad, Thomas Forchas, has already pulled in over $200,000 by early Thursday afternoon. The funds will cover medical bills, therapy for both kids to deal with the trauma, and whatever else comes up during recovery.