Twelve-year-old Sophia Forchas, one of the victims of the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis in August, made her triumphant return home after what her family called a “miraculous” recovery.
The Annunciation Catholic School student was shot in the temple and had to be placed in a medically induced coma and have part of her skull removed, per CBS News. Her parents credit her incredible recovery to the power of faith and prayer, plus the determination of her medical team.
Sophia was in critical condition when she arrived at the hospital. “It’s only been two months or so since this terrible event,” Dr. Walt Galicich, a neurosurgeon with Hennepin Healthcare, said of Forchas’ recovery. “And to see her walking around wanting to go home and go back to school is pretty amazing.”
“Your prayers have been powerful,” the Forchas family statement read. “Sophia surviving this horrific attack is a miracle. Her healing progress is nothing short of miraculous; an undeniable testament to the mercy and intervention of our Lord Jesus Christ. Each day we uncover new revelations of moments and circumstances that kept her alive and made her recovery possible. There are simply too many to be dismissed as coincidence. God has heard our prayers and wrapped Sophia in His healing embrace.”
“It is by God’s will that she has come this far. We are eternally grateful to our loving Father, who hears and answers prayers,” the statement added.
On August 27, a trans-identifying gunman named Robin Westman was identified as the shooter.
Westman, 23, targeted the church at Annunciation Catholic School, firing through the church’s windows from a parking lot while students from the school attended Mass. Westman killed two students, 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski, and wounded 27 others. The shooter died after turning his gun on himself.
The gunman left behind numerous writings, videos, and other communications that include deeply troubling and hateful thoughts and intentions. Westman directed strong feelings at Christians, Jews, and President Donald Trump, but also at himself and his transgender identity. He also blamed marijuana, saying it “f***ed up my head.”
.png)
.png)
