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Sophia Forchas, Last Hospitalized Annunciation Shooting Victim, Returns Home

Her release follows weeks of rehabilitation after life‑saving brain surgery.

Overview

  • Released Thursday, the 12-year-old was escorted from Gillette Children’s in a white limousine with a police motorcade, stopping at Hennepin Healthcare to thank staff and visiting her school to greet classmates.
  • Doctors say a bullet lodged in her brain caused severe damage that required removal of part of her skull, and in early September her neurosurgeon warned she might not survive.
  • Her parents say she now begins outpatient therapy and faces a long recovery, noting daily gains in speech and mobility as she approaches her 13th birthday.
  • The Aug. 27 rifle attack during school Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church killed students Fletcher Merkel, 8, and Harper Moyski, 10, and left many others wounded; the shooter was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot.
  • A verified GoFundMe for her recovery has raised more than $1.1 million as community support continues.