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A 12-year-old girl who was shot in the head during the Annunciation Catholic Church shooting in Minneapolis in August has been released from hospital, with her parents crediting her recovery to the “miraculous power of prayer.”
Sophia Forchas was left fighting for her life after a gunman opened fire during the deadly Aug. 27 attack. She was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition and underwent emergency surgery, during which doctors removed part of her skull to relieve swelling. She was then placed in a medically induced coma, according to FOX 9.
A crowd of supporters lined the sidewalk outside Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) on Thursday with signs to greet Forchas, who had been treated at HCMC and most recently had undergone rehabilitation at Gillette Children’s.
Sophia’s parents said her release marked “one of the most extraordinary days of our lives.”
“Our beloved daughter, Sophia, is coming home!!” they wrote on a GoFundMe page set up to raise funds for her recovery. The page has generated nearly $1.2 million in donations.
“We are overwhelmed with gratitude for the remarkable medical professionals whose skill, compassion, and unwavering dedication brought us to this moment,” her parents wrote.
They thanked doctors and rehabilitation teams at HCMC and Gillette Children’s Hospital and said Sophia is now walking, swimming and “even dribbling a basketball.”
“Each step she takes is a living testament to the boundless grace of God and the miraculous power of prayer,” the couple said.
The Forchas family also offered prayers for those killed and injured in the Aug. 27 shooting, writing, “May their memory be eternal.”
Two children, Fletcher Merkel and Harper Moyski, were killed in the mass shooting and 18 people — 15 of them children — were injured.
Sophia’s mother is a pediatric critical care nurse who was at work at Hennepin Healthcare when she discovered that her daughter was among the injured, according to the Associated Press.
Forchas’ brother was also inside the school during the shooting but was not injured, her parents said.
The alleged gunman, Robin Westman, formerly Robert Westman, opened fire from outside the school at around 10 a.m., moments after students had gathered for mass, and many children were in the pews.
The horror unfolded for about 10 minutes before Westman, who was transgender, killed himself with his own weapon, police said.
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