The victims in the shooting inside an elementary school were in a church building when a man opened fire, says police chief Brian O'Hara at a press conference.
The situation is serious for several of the injured, according to CNN, the youngest injured victim is six years old.
The perpetrator, a man in his early twenties, was heavily armed with two rifles and a pistol when he began shooting through the church windows, and he managed, according to the police, to fire all the weapons before the shooting was over.
Should never have happened
He shot at the children sitting in the pews, shot through the windows. He hit the children and the others inside the building, says Brian O'Hara.
It was a deliberate act of violence against innocent children, he continues and calls the shooting unimaginable.
It is unclear whether the shooter entered the building. The man is dead, according to the police, probably after taking his own life.
There are families who now have dead children. It is impossible to put into words the tragedy. This should never be allowed to happen, says a visibly shaken mayor, Jacob Frey, at the press conference.
Do not talk about prayers
President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance have both stated that they are following the development and Trump urges everyone to pray for the victims and their families. But he gets a rebuke from Frey.
Do not talk about sending your thoughts and prayers right now, these children were literally praying when the shooting started.
It was the first week of school, they were in a church. They should have been able to leave with their friends. They should be playing right now. They should be able to go to school or to their church without feeling fear.
The school has children from preschool to eighth grade. The alarm came around 8:30 in the morning, local time, during the first week of school in the fall term and the mass was held as an introduction to the school year.
