Rochester Police, Schools Heighten Security After Mass Shooting

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - The Rochester School District reached out to families and staff today in the aftermath of the mass shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis.

Superintendent Kent Pekel sent a message to the Rochester Public Schools community in response to what he described as the “horrific shooting” and “senseless violence” that resulted in the deaths of two young children and left 17 others wounded, most of them students at Annunciation Church and School in South Minneapolis. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said two of the wounded students suffered critical injuries but are expected to survive.

In his message, Pekel stated that Rochester Police Chief Jim Franklin contacted him shortly after reports of the mass shooting surfaced to provide an update. Pekel said Franklin informed him that he had directed Rochester police officers to increase patrols near all Rochester schools out of an abundance of caution and placed the School Resource Officers stationed in secondary schools on heightened alert.

Superintendent Pekel said school staff will be especially attentive to the emotional needs of students in the days ahead and noted that school counselors and social workers are available to provide support if needed.

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The superintendent’s full statement appears below.

Dear RPS community,

In the midst of the excitement of a new school year, we find ourselves heartbroken about the horrific shooting that took place at Annunciation Church and School in Minneapolis this morning. The senseless violence—claiming the lives of two children and injuring many others during a morning Mass—defies comprehension and strikes painfully close to home. We will keep everyone who has been directly and indirectly impacted by the tragedy in our thoughts in the days ahead.

Not long after the shooting took place in Minneapolis this morning, Rochester Police Chief Jim Franklin reached out to me to update me on the situation and to inform me that he had directed our local officers to increase patrols near all of our schools out of an abundance of caution. He also placed the School Resource Officers who work in our secondary schools on heightened alert.

We are proud of the strong partnerships we share with the Rochester Police Department and other law enforcement agencies, and we continually review and reinforce safety protocols in every one of our schools and programs. 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.

You can learn more about how we handle critical incidents on our website. We will also be communicating those procedures with families this week.

We know that tragic events like this can be difficult for children to understand. In the days ahead, we will be especially attentive to the emotional needs of our students. If you feel your child or a student in your class would benefit from speaking with someone, please reach out to your school's principal, counselors, or social workers. They are available, they are experts, and they are ready to provide support.

Thank you for being our partners in keeping our schools safe and caring places for our children to learn and grow.

Sincerely,

Kent Pekel, Ed.D

Superintendent