MINNESOTA — Two children were killed and 17 others were injured in a shooting at a Catholic school in Minnesota on Wednesday.
Of the 17 injured at Annuciation Catholic School, police said 14 were children, with their ages ranging from 6 to 15. Authorities said they are all expected to survive.
Matt DeBoer, the principal at the Annunciation Catholic School, has roots in Seattle and is well known in the area’s Catholic community.
DeBoer led Saint Therese Catholic School for eight years before moving to Minnesota three years ago. His wife was a teacher at Holy Names.
The news of the mass shooting at at the school in Minnesota hit uncomfortably close to home at Saint Therese Catholic School.
“I think he [DeBoer] is a wonderful administrator,” said Nicole Saint Hilaire, who has worked there for 20 years. “He came to Saint Therese when my children were young. And he was an incredible leader at that time. And I’m sure he continues to be in his new position.”
“He’s very community focused,” said Lucelia Thompson, who was a second grader when DeBoer arrived at St. Therese. “You know, we’re a pretty diverse school. So, he did a lot to celebrate everyone’s cultures and stuff and make sure people felt at home here.”
Some of that devotion is evident at his new position, too.
“This is a nightmare,” declared DeBoer at a news conference in Minneapolis on Wednesday. “We call our staff the ‘Dream Team.’ We will recover from this. We will rebuild from this.”
Indeed, DeBoer is credited with working years ago to make Saint Therese a safer environment for everyone in the building.
“When Matt was here, he helped put in some security features at the school,” said St. Hilaire. “They were one of the first schools to have facial recognition. It was one of the first schools in the entire country to have it. And that continues to be a priority here, certainly.”
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