On August 27, a gunman opened fire at Annunciation Catholic Church and school in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Two children -- eight-year-old Fletcher Merkel and ten-year-old Harper Moyoski -- were killed, and many more were injured. One of the injured is 12-year-old Sophia Forchas.
Forchas was struck in the head during the shooting and rushed to Hennepin Healthcare in critical condition
We're happy to report today that Sophia's condition has improved, and doctors have her now listed in "serious condition."
The condition of a 12-year-old girl injured in the Annunciation mass shooting has improved, Hennepin Healthcare officials say. https://t.co/kBILkyeK2a
— FOX 9 (@FOX9) September 11, 2025
Doctors said last week that she could become the third fatality in the shooting after being placed in a medically-induced coma.
Sophia's neurosurgeon Dr. Walt Galicich said during a news conference last week that Sophia came into the hospital with a gunshot wound to the head, and was in critical condition. Her eyes were bilaterally fixed and dilated, meaning the pressure in her head was very high.
"And if you had told me at this juncture, 10 days later, that we'd be standing here with any ray of hope, I would have said it would take a miracle," Dr. Galicich said in the news conference
Doctors also reported that the bullet is still in Sophia's head, and that removing it at this point would "not help Sophia's situation and could actually make it worse."
To help treat the swelling in her brain, doctors had to remove the left side of Sophia's skull. They also had to repair some critical blood vessels that were damaged in the shooting, but said they "did their best" to repair the vessels and stop the bleeding.
Despite those improvements, doctors and Sophia's family know she has a long road to recovery ahead of her. Sophia's younger brother also attends the school and was in the church when the shooting took place. He was uninjured.
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