Annunciation Shooting Survivor Sophia Forchas Released

Sophia Forchas, 12, the last student hospitalized after the Aug. 27 mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis, was released from Gillette Children’s Hospital after nearly two months. She was critically wounded — shot in the head with a bullet lodged in her brain — and surgeons removed roughly half of her skull to relieve swelling; doctors say her speech and personality are improving and she can walk, swim and dribble a basketball. She was escorted from the hospital in a white limousine, stopped at Hennepin County Medical Center where staff greeted her, and returned to Annunciation to be embraced by classmates. Two children, Fletcher Merkel, 8, and Harper Moyski, 10, were killed in the attack, which police say was carried out by Robin Westman, who later died by suicide. Her family thanked medical teams and supporters, said she will need ongoing outpatient therapy and a long recovery, and has used a GoFundMe to help cover medical and counseling costs.