The deadly shooting at a church in Michigan on Sunday was the latest in a wave of attacks on religious institutions that have rattled the nation.
A Catholic Church in Minnesota
Two children were killed in an attack on a back-to-school Mass at a Catholic church in Minneapolis on Aug. 27. An assailant fired through the windows of the Annunciation Catholic Church, killing an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old and injuring 19 other people, including 16 children.
The parish has a school for children in prekindergarten through eighth grade. The attacker, who was a former student at the school, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
A Baptist Church in Kentucky
Two women were fatally shot and two others were wounded on the grounds of a church in Lexington, Ky., on July 13.
The gunman had shot a state trooper who had pulled him over near Lexington’s airport. He then carjacked another vehicle and drove 16 miles to the Richmond Road Baptist Church in Lexington, where he opened fire on people on the church’s property. The gunman was killed by officers on the scene, and the authorities said he may have had a connection to people at the church.
A Bible School in Michigan
A man in a tactical vest who was armed with an AR-15-style rifle and a semiautomatic handgun opened fire on a church in Wayne, Mich., on June 22. The church, about 25 miles west of Detroit, was filled with children attending Vacation Bible School. One church employee was injured, and the gunman was fatally shot by members of the church’s security staff.
The authorities said that the gunman’s mother was a member of the church and that he had attended services there two or three times in the previous year. The police said they did not know what the motive for the shooting was, and that the gunman may have been experiencing a mental health crisis.
A Christian School in Wisconsin
A 15-year-old student at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wis., carried out a shooting attack in December 2024 in which a 14-year-old student and a teacher were killed. Six others — a teacher and five students — were injured.
The student, who opened fire with a handgun, died of a self-inflicted gunshot, the authorities said. The shooting took place during the last week of classes before the Christmas break.
A Religious School in Tennessee
Three students and three staff members were killed by an armed assailant at the Covenant School, a private Christian school in Nashville, in March 2023. The students who died were all 9 years old.
The attacker was identified as a former student at the school. Authorities said the assailant, who had been planning the attack for months, fired 152 rounds while on the campus, beginning with shots fired to smash through the doors of the school.
Talya Minsberg contributed reporting.
Sonia A. Rao reports on disability issues as a member of the 2025-26 Times Fellowship class, a program for early-career journalists.
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