A 12-year-old Annunciation Catholic School shooting victim is making "miraculous" progress toward recovery after she was shot in the head on Aug. 27, with family crediting "fervent prayer."
Sophia Forchas, a 12-year-old student at the school located at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was one of several students injured in the mass shooting at the parochial school three weeks ago. The attack also claimed the lives of students Fletcher Merkel, 8, and Harper Moyski, 10.
Last Friday, Forchas' family provided a positive update on the student's condition in a message posted on a GoFundMe page to raise funds to pay for costs associated with her recovery.
"Wednesday, the hospital upgraded her condition from critical to serious," the update stated. "Her progress to this point is being called miraculous. We are calling it a miracle."
At a press conference on Sept. 5, over a week after the attack, neurosurgeon Dr. Walt Galicich of Hennepin County Medical Center predicted that Forchas could become "the third fatality of the event."
At the same time, Galicich acknowledged that there were "rays of hope" for the young girl, who was in critical condition at the time of the press conference.
Friday's update contrasted Forchas' current condition with her previous prognosis, recalling how "doctors warned us she was on the brink of death" in the aftermath of the shooting. Forchas' family credited "faithful devotion and fervent prayer" along with "love, and unwavering support from across the globe" with helping her condition improve.
"The road ahead for Sophia is steep, but she is climbing it with fierce determination," the family added. "She is fighting not just for herself, but for every family who stood by her in prayer." The update called Forchas "a warrior" who is "winning" her battle to stay alive.
The fundraiser for Forchas has raised nearly $1.2 million as of Tuesday afternoon to cover the costs of her medical care and recovery as well as trauma care for the 12-year-old girl and her brother, another student at the school who witnessed the attack but escaped unharmed.
Money raised for Forchas will also go to "family support services and therapy" in addition to "lost wages for the family." Vice President JD Vance, who met with victims of the school shooting and their families earlier this month, specifically mentioned Forchas in an X post. Vance urged Americans to "pray for her health, pray for her swelling to be controlled, and pray for strength for her parents, doctors, and nurses."
Forchas was one of more than a dozen students injured when trans-identified gunman Robert Westman, who had changed his name to "Robin," opened fire as pupils at the Catholic school attended weekly mass on Aug. 27.
In the aftermath of the mass shooting, a debate broke out about whether or not thoughts and prayers were effective in consideration of the incident taking place at a Catholic school. Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki insisted that "prayer is not freaking enough," which prompted Vance to defend the power of prayer: "We pray because our hearts are broken. We pray because we know God listens. We pray because we know that God works in mysterious ways, and can inspire us to further action."
"Why do you feel the need to attack other people for praying when kids were just killed praying?" he asked.
