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Tag: Annunciation Catholic School

  • Flags are at half-staff in Massachusetts today, this weekend. Here’s why

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    President Trump has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff across the United States to honor the victims of a recent school shooting in Minnesota on Aug. 27.

    “As a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence, […] I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff,” the proclamation reads.

    On Wednesday, Aug. 27, two children were killed and at least 17 were injured when a shooter fired through the windows of Annunciation Church in Minneapolis, where students of Annunciation Catholic School were attending Mass.

    In honor of the two victims, aged 8 and 10, the flag of the United States at all public buildings and grounds across the country and its territories – including in Massachusetts – will fly at half-staff until sunset on Sunday, Aug. 31.

    Gov. Maura Healey also ordered the flags to be flown at half staff, offering her condolences on X.

    “My heart breaks for the Annunciation Catholic School. The start of the school year shattered by another senseless, preventable act of gun violence,” she wrote. “Praying for first responders, students, teachers and families going through the unimaginable. Children should be safe in school.

    Why are flags flown at half-staff?

    Dramatic Sky Above US Flag at Half Mast

    According to the official website of the U.S. General Services Administration, flags typically fly at half-staff when the country or specific state is in mourning. Observances include national tragedies, days of remembrance and deaths of government or military personnel.

    The president, the state governor or the mayor of Washington, D.C., can order flags to fly at half-staff.

    Half-staff vs. half-mast

    While half-staff refers to lowered flags on land, half-mast refers to those at sea. Both refer to a flag being flown beneath the top of its staff as a sign of respect.

    Cheryl McCloud of the USA TODAY Network contributed to this report.

    This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Why are flags at half-staff in Massachusetts today? What to know

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  • Fact Check: Robin Westman NOT Clifford Thomas Phillps Jr. Is The Suspect In Minneapolis Annunciation Catholic School Shooting

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    Is Clifford Thomas Phillips Jr. the suspect in the shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis? No, that’s not true: The shooter has been identified by law enforcement officials as Robin Westman. He died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The name Clifford Thomas Phillips Jr. was already circulating on social media before the shooting in Minneapolis happened. In social media posts Phillips’ name was already falsely associated with at least two university shooting hoaxes, at Villanova University in Philadelphia and the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. There was no shooting at either university.

    The incorrect name of a suspect appeared in a post (archived here) published on X by @DrDillDoeAlpha on Aug. 27, 2025. The post was captioned:

    🚨BREAKING 🚨

    The shooter at the Minneapolis church has been identified as Clifford Thomas Phillps Jr.

    Phillips travelled from his home in Columbus, OH and attacked the chruch

    Phillips is a radical leftist who runs the YouTube channel “CTP Know the Truth”

    The post included this photo:

    Image Source: Lead Stories screenshot of @DrDillDoeAlpha post on X

    The @DrDillDoeAlpha account has posted the same photo with the same false caption three times, changing only the location of the shooting. The name is also spelled unusually, Phillps. An Aug. 21, 2025 post on X (archived here) said Phillips was the shooter at Villanova University, an Aug. 25, 2025 post (archived here) said Phillips was the shooter at the University of Arkansas, and a Aug. 27 2025 post (archived here) said he was the shooter at the Minneapolis church. AP News reported on Aug. 26, 2025 that in recent days false reports of an active shooter have hit at least twelve campuses, including Villanova and the University of Arkansas.

    wrongcompare.jpg

    Image Source: Lead Stories screenshots of @DrDillDoeAlpha posts on X

    At a press conference streamed live on YouTube at 11 a.m. on August 27, it was confirmed that the gunman was dead, 19 minutes, 45 seconds in. NBC News reported that Robin Westman had been identified as the suspect by multiple law enforcement sources.

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  • Fact Check: Sam Hyde Is NOT The Shooter At Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis — Troll Posts

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    Is Sam Hyde the perpetrator of a shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis? No, that’s not true:A viral post recycled the meme in circulation since 2015 that casts the comedian Sam Hyde as an attacker after mass shootings in the U.S. or abroad. No credible media organization reported that anyone named “Sam Hyde” was connected to the events in Minneapolis.

    The troll posts appeared in the wake of a school shooting that happened on August 27, 2025.

    An example of the claim appeared in a post on X (archived here) published on August 27, 2025 that read:

    The mass shooter in Minnesota was identified as Sam Hyde. Sam was frustrated that his former Catholic school was teaching LGBTQ propaganda. It’s also reported that Sam is involved in an active firefight with Governor Tim Waltz.
    #masshooting
    #ar15
    #Minnesota
    #Governor
    #news

    “Sam Hyde is the killer” joke

    As part of a bizarre internet in-joke, comedian Sam Hyde gets blamed for almost every mass shooting or headline-grabbing assasination that happens, often within minutes of the event. The joke originally started on 4chan and has been perpetuated for years by various troll accounts.

    Often the false claims use a picture of Hyde posing with a weapon, such as this one:

    You can read our previous fact checks mentioning his name here.

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  • Multiple victims in Minneapolis Catholic school shooting and suspect reportedly dead

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    Police responded to an active shooter incident at a Catholic school in south Minneapolis on Wednesday, with sources confirming there are multiple victims and that the shooter is now dead.

    Crews at the scene reported seeing a large number of ambulances, according to CBS. Sources told ABC News that there are multiple victims from a shooting that took place during morning drop-off at Annunciation Catholic school in Minneapolis.

    The city of Minneapolis’s official X account said there is “no active threat to the community at this time” as of 10:29am EST.

    “The shooter is contained. Stay away from the area to allow emergency personnel to help victims – W. 54th Street between Lyndale and Nicollet Ave,” the city wrote.

    The suspect is reportedly dead, according to Fox 9. The outlet also reported that the first call to law enforcement went through at 8.27am local time, shortly after a mass for students was slated to kick off at 8.15am.

    The police department from Richfield, a suburb that borders Minneapolis, told Fox 9 there were 20 victims. It was unclear how many, if any, were dead.

    “A man dressed in all black and armed with a rifle was reported at the scene,” the Richfield police department said.

    Minnesota’s governor, Tim Walz, said he’d been “briefed on a shooting at Annunciation Catholic school” on Wednesday morning and would “continue to provide updates as we get more information”.

    “The [Bureau of Criminal Apprehension] and State Patrol are on scene. I’m praying for our kids and teachers whose first week of school was marred by this horrific act of violence,” he wrote on X.

    Minneapolis’s mayor, Jacob Frey, said he is “monitoring reports of horrific violence in south Minneapolis” and the “emergency response team has been activated”. Frey was also at the scene at around 10:15am EST.

    The US secretary of homeland security, Kristi Noem, said on X that the Department of Homeland Security is monitoring the shooting.

    “We are in communication with our interagency partners, and will share more information as soon as it becomes available. I am praying for the victims of this heinous attack and their families,” Noem said.

    Donald Trump also said on Truth Social on Wednesday morning that he’s been “fully briefed on the tragic shooting” and that the “White House will continue to monitor this terrible situation. Please join me in praying for everyone involved!”

    The Hennepin county sheriff’s office said in a statement that it was “actively assisting the Minneapolis Police Department and other law enforcement agencies” and urged “all residents to stay out of the affected area to allow emergency responders to operate effectively”.

    “This is an evolving situation and we will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available. Our hearts go out to all those impacted by this act of violence,” it said.

    Wednesday’s incident marks the fourth shooting in 24 hours in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Over the course of Tuesday into Wednesday, three people were shot and killed in three separate shootings. At least eight people also suffered gunshot wounds in those incidents.

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  • Shooter at Minneapolis Catholic school ‘contained,’ officials say

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    Police in Minneapolis have responded to a reported shooting at a Catholic school during the first week of classes. Local media reports emergency responders were called to the Annunciation Catholic School on Wednesday morning in the city’s Windom neighborhood, about 8 miles west of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Stream live video from the scene”I’ve been briefed on a shooting at Annunciation Catholic School and will continue to provide updates as we get more information,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said in a statement on social media. “I’m praying for our kids and teachers whose first week of school was marred by this horrific act of violence.”In a social media post, the city of Minneapolis said the shooter is “contained” and there is no active threat to the community.It is unknown how many people may have been injured in this shooting. A person answering the phone at Annunciation School said students were being evacuated.Local and state police, FBI, federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents and other authorities converged on the school.Dating to 1923, the pre-kindergarten through eighth grade school had an all-school Mass scheduled at 8:15 a.m. Wednesday morning, according to its website. Monday was the first day of school, and social media photos from that day show students in green uniforms greeting each other at bicycle racks, smiling for the camera and sitting together.The gunfire was the latest in a series of fatal shootings in the city in less than 24 hours. One person was killed and six others were hurt in a shooting Tuesday afternoon outside a high school in Minneapolis. Hours later, two people died in two other shootings in the city.The Associated Press contributed to this story.This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.

    MINNEAPOLIS —

    Police in Minneapolis have responded to a reported shooting at a Catholic school during the first week of classes.

    Local media reports emergency responders were called to the Annunciation Catholic School on Wednesday morning in the city’s Windom neighborhood, about 8 miles west of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

    Stream live video from the scene

    “I’ve been briefed on a shooting at Annunciation Catholic School and will continue to provide updates as we get more information,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said in a statement on social media. “I’m praying for our kids and teachers whose first week of school was marred by this horrific act of violence.”

    In a social media post, the city of Minneapolis said the shooter is “contained” and there is no active threat to the community.

    It is unknown how many people may have been injured in this shooting.

    A person answering the phone at Annunciation School said students were being evacuated.

    Local and state police, FBI, federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents and other authorities were converged on the school.

    Dating to 1923, the pre-kindergarten through eighth grade school had an all-school Mass scheduled at 8:15 a.m. Wednesday morning, according to its website. Monday was the first day of school, and social media photos from that day show students in green uniforms greeting each other at bicycle racks, smiling for the camera and sitting together.

    The gunfire was the latest in a series of fatal shootings in the city in less than 24 hours. One person was killed and six others were hurt in a shooting Tuesday afternoon outside a high school in Minneapolis. Hours later, two people died in two other shootings in the city.

    The Associated Press contributed to this story.

    This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.

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