OAN Staff Katherine Mosack and Brooke Mallory
1:56 PM – Wednesday, September 24, 2025
A 12-year-old student at Annunciation Catholic School, who was shot in the head last month during Mass at the school’s church, is reportedly making a miraculous recovery, her family says.
On August 27th, the now-deceased gunman, a 23-year-old biological man who identified as a transgender woman, ambushed the Catholic schoolchildren attending Mass during their first week of school, leaving two dead and 21 others injured.
Sophia Forchas, one of the injured victims, was reportedly shot in the head during the horrifying ordeal. However, miraculously, her doctors say that they are optimistic she will be able to transition, this week, from acute care at HCMC to an inpatient rehabilitation program — an indication of significant progress.
Nonetheless, the bullet still remains lodged in her brain — damaging a major blood vessel.
“We’re thrilled to share that Sophia continues to make steady progress, showing promising signs of neurological recovery,” Sophia’s family said in a statement issued Monday by Hennepin Healthcare, where she is receiving treatment.
Advertisement“Her doctors remain cautiously optimistic, and her exceptional medical team is preparing for her transition this week from acute care at HCMC to an inpatient rehabilitation program,” the statement reported. “Though she still has a long journey ahead, filled with extensive therapy, her resilience continues to inspire hope at every step.”
Forchas’ neurosurgeon initially believed that she had a low chance of survival.
“The pressure in her brain was very high,” Dr. Walt Galicich said on September 5th. “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.”
Sophia’s family expressed a deep sense of gratitude over her survival and recovery, thanking God for keeping her alive.
“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.”
A previous September 9th report also stated that Sophia had been removed from the ventilator and can now breathe independently.
A GoFundMe was established on behalf of the Forchas family. It has raised more than 92% of the $1,250,000 goal at the time of this publication.
The description states: “Adding to the heartbreak, her younger brother was also inside the school during the shooting. Though he was physically unharmed, the trauma of witnessing such a terrifying event — and knowing his sister was critically injured — is something no child should ever experience … Furthermore, her mother, a Pediatric Critical Care Nurse, arrived at work to help during the tragedy, before knowing it was her children’s school that was attacked, and that her daughter was critically injured,” the description continues.
Funds raised will go toward Sophia’s ongoing ICU care and recovery, in addition to trauma counseling for both children.
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