WATCH: Gov. Tim Walz, police chief offer update on Minneapolis school shooting and shooter identity

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said “no words” could “capture the horror and the evil” of the deadly violence that devastated a Catholic school Wednesday morning when a shooter opened fire through the windows of a church as students were celebrating Mass.

Two children, ages 8 and 10, were killed in the shooting at Annunciation Church in south Minneapolis. Seventeen other people, including 14 children, were injured. The alleged shooter died by suicide.

This week was the first of the school year for Annunciation Catholic School, which educates pre-K through 8th grade students and had an all-school Mass scheduled for Wednesday morning.

“Don't just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now,” Frey said at a news briefing. “These kids were literally praying. It was the first week of school. They were in a church.”

Frey expressed sorrow for the families of the students and asked everyone to “stand by them” and “love them.”

“These families have forever been changed, and we've all been changed with them,” he said. “We need to do everything possible to support them through this time.”

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