Neurosurgeon Sees ‘Rays of Hope’ for 12-Year-Old Critically Wounded in Minneapolis Church Shooting
Surgeon says bullet remains in the girl’s temporal lobe and she remains in critical condition at Hennepin Healthcare
A neurosurgeon treating a 12-year-old girl critically injured in an August 27 shooting at a Minneapolis church said Friday there are "rays of hope" for the child, even as he warned she remains in critical condition and could still become a fatality of the attack.
Dr. Walt Galicich, Sophia Forchas’s neurosurgeon, told reporters that Sophia was shot in the temporal lobe and that the bullet remains in her brain. He said the wound caused severe damage to the portion of the brain responsible for processing sensory information, storing and retrieving memories and understanding language.
"I'm going to be blunt, Sophia is still in critical condition in the intensive care unit. There's a chance that she's maybe the third fatality of this event," Galicich said at the news conference. He added, "But the door has been opened a little bit and there's some rays of hope shining through."
Sophia was the most seriously wounded child among those who survived the attack at the Church of the Annunciation, according to officials and hospital statements. Two students were killed and 21 people were injured in the shooting. The suspected shooter, identified in news reports as 23-year-old Robin Westman, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene.
Hennepin Healthcare, which treated many of the wounded at its trauma center, has discharged all patients who were receiving care there except for Sophia, hospital officials said. Galicich did not detail a timeline for potential further surgery or recovery steps, and he emphasized the uncertainty surrounding the child's prognosis given the severity of the brain injury.
Medical experts say injuries to the temporal lobe can affect sensory processing, memory and language, making recovery from such wounds complex and often prolonged. The presence of an unretrieved bullet can complicate care and influence decisions about additional surgical interventions, depending on factors such as swelling, infection risk and the precise neurological damage.
The August attack at the Church of the Annunciation drew widespread attention and prompted an outpouring of support for victims and their families. Local authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the shooting, and community leaders have called for increased security and support for survivors.
Galicich’s comments marked one of the few public medical updates about the most critically injured survivor in the weeks after the shooting. Hospital officials and the medical team treating Sophia have balanced patient privacy with periodic updates to the public about broader hospitalization and discharge information for other victims.