The first group of Annunciation mass shooting victims is leaving for high school
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
Fourteen-year-old Endre Gunter was ecstatic about returning to football practice this month. At 6 feet, 2 inches, the budding athlete hopes to one day make it to the NFL.
That possibility was barely imaginable a year ago.
Endre was shot in the side during the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis on Aug. 27, 2025. He underwent abdominal surgery that hospitalized him for days and had to relearn how to sit up, eat and move.
He had a slow but ultimately near-complete physical recovery. Doctors cleared him to play just in time for his first year at Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield.
Turn Up Your Support
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
“I’m definitely very happy because I always wanted to play football in high school,” Endre said.
His mother Danielle Gunter said he still has scars from two bullet wounds and surgery on his stomach, though. The markers drew attention when he first went swimming after the injuries.
And while Endre said he’s doing better with time, he doesn’t yet feel mentally “100.”
“Before this all happened, I didn’t have all these worries on my mind,” he said. “I wasn’t worried about going to school. I wasn’t worried about like all this stuff. And I just feel like now, you know, that’s on my mind.”
As he heads to ninth grade, Endre is among dozens of Annunciation students carrying physical and psychological scars into their new schools.
Hundreds of Annunciation students were present for Mass when a shooter fired into the church, leaving two children dead, 29 injured and the lives of countless more forever changed.
Resources poured into Annunciation in the aftermath. Therapists, security guards and a cute bunny helped ease the return to school. The close-knit community found solace in each other.
For rising freshmen, the transition to high school means leaving the support system that has sustained them over the last year —and a space shadowed by violence.
Excitement for change
In his room, Javen Willis holds up the parting gift Annunciation gave its 8th graders: a blue and green bow in a white frame. It’s one of his favorite school mementos.
The bow is repurposed from one of the thousands that people tied around the Twin Cities to show support for the Annunciation community after the mass shooting. Javen displays it prominently in his room, though he’s mindful to not think of that day too often.
“I try to think about it like every one to two days. I don’t want to forget about it,” he said. “I don’t want it to leave my mind because it’s like a big change in my life. But I don’t want to think about it all the time. Just brings stress on me.”
Javen is matter-of-fact about what happened and what has followed. He said he doesn't think anything has changed for him, though so much has.
The 14-year-old said the tragedy brought him closer to God and to the friends who have helped him move forward. The things he took for granted have meaning now, too.
He looks forward to being in a new school and making new friends. When touring DeLaSalle High School, a Catholic school open since the early 1900s, he said it felt like home. It’s downtown and on an island which is cool, he said.
Baseball is also top of mind. He wants more exposure in the scene, with hopes of playing in college.
His mom Melissa Willis thinks the transition to high school will be a good and needed change. She’s reassured by the school’s proactive outreach to Annunciation families.
“It’s just a very welcoming community, and all the things that we’ve gone to as parents as well have allowed us to meet other parents and kind of make the transition seem pretty seamless.”
‘My kids are still being kids’
“I’m ready for a change of place,” said Tommy Copps, 14, wearing a newsboy cap, a nod to the character he played in Annunciation’s production of “A Christmas Story.”
Tommy is excited to participate in band and the theater program at Academy of Holy Angels, which he will attend with his older sister, his friend Endre, and many other Annunciation alumni. He already knows the musical this year is “Hello, Dolly!”
He said he doesn’t think about the Annunciation shooting unless it’s brought up, though in one instance he stopped himself mid-breath to instead refer to it as “the thing.”
His parents tell a different story. They pick up on how he is startled by unexpected sounds and checks on others who seem to be struggling, including his teacher and younger sister, also an Annunciation student.
Teresa and Corey Copps are glad Tommy can be in a new environment. They refer to a heaviness to contend with around Annunciation, particularly the church.
“It's hard to go back in there and be in a mindset to worship,” said Corey Copps, who is also the facility manager at Annunciation. “We’re still coming to terms with that, trying to figure out how we move forward here.”
There are heavy emotions around the church. Many can’t bring themselves to reenter. Eighth grade graduation was relocated to the school auditorium, as was Mass.
Teresa Copps said this past year has been incredibly long and difficult. Everyone in their family of six is in therapy. She finds resilience in seeing her kids moving on.
“Seeing my kids thrive, seeing Tommy perform in the musical, seeing him perform in the talent show, seeing my youngest saying that fourth grade was an awesome year, and in my eyes, this was the longest year ever … that is where my hope and comfort is: is that my kids are still being kids,” she said.
School leaders prepare for transition
Annunciation students are not heading into ninth grade alone.
Area high schools, both public and private, banded together and reached out to Annunciation in the spring, according to Lauren Nietz, director of the training institute and clinical development at the Washburn Center for Children, the mental health care provider leading therapy at Annunciation for students and staff.
The schools sought advice on how to best to ensure Annunciation 8th graders were supported in their move.
“It was a wonderful conversation about stress biology, traumatic responses, about how adults can show up as regulating partners for children, as well as this unique experience that Annunciation kids went through,” Nietz said.
Washburn and Annunciation leaders provided professional development for Holy Angels and DeLaSalle, where many students are going. Some schools planned for a dedicated counselor or individualized check-ins for former Annunciation students. They set up meetings with families before the school year and ensured August 27 was an excused absence.
Nietz said Washburn will continue being a resource for other schools.
Still, Endre and his mom are grappling with other aspects of the transition to high school. For them, the biggest reassurance over the last year came from the security team at Annunciation.
Danielle Gunter said her son wouldn’t have returned to school without them.
“Going back to school without having security, is always now — that’s going to be like more of like a thought, like will it happen again? I just keep on praying that it won’t happen again,” Endre said.
His parents had originally planned for him to attend public school but decided to pivot because most of his friends will be at Holy Angels. His new school stepped in to help make it financially feasible, according to Gunter.
Outside of school safety, Endre is worried about math and getting good grades in high school.
He rides his e-bike, plays video games and hangs with friends in the meantime, wearing a gold Saint Benedict necklace for protection.
