Documents reveal swift police response to Minneapolis school shooting aftermath

Documents released a year after the deadly shooting at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church and St. Paul Catholic School in Minneapolis show that police arrived within minutes and began triaging injured students. The files, obtained through a public records request, detail the first responders’ actions from the moment the 911 call was made on September 12, 2023, to the time the shooter was neutralised. The release offers a rare inside view of the emergency response to one of the country’s worst school‑related shootings.

The shooting killed ten people and injured nine. The gunman, a 30‑year‑old man with a history of mental‑health problems, entered the school after a service and fired a handgun. The incident added to a growing list of U.S. school shootings that have sparked debate about gun control, campus security and how police protect students. Minneapolis had already been working on emergency plans for schools, but the tragedy highlighted gaps in coordination and rapid response.

The documents show that officers reached the scene at 10:12 a.m., less than five minutes after the first call. They set up a perimeter, used crowd‑control barriers and worked with EMTs to triage patients in the school gym. The paperwork contains call logs, body‑camera footage, medical reports and a timeline of events. It also records the use of the incident‑command system and the deployment of a K‑9 unit to locate the shooter, who was killed by police before he could escape. The logs illustrate how the police worked with local hospitals and the Catholic Diocese to move injured students to treatment.

The investigation remains open, but the shooter’s death means no criminal charges will be filed. The release of the documents may help families understand what happened and could prompt policy changes. City officials are expected to review emergency‑response protocols and may hold hearings. The Catholic Diocese is evaluating new security measures, including better fencing and surveillance. The documents could also influence future legislation on gun safety, mental‑health services and school security funding.