Minneapolis, September 15, 2025
fox9.com
The family of 12-year-old Sophia Forchas, who was shot in the head during the August 27 mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis, has announced that her condition has improved from critical to serious, calling her progress a “miracle.”
Sophia, a member of St. Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church in Minneapolis, was among 21 people injured in the shooting that killed two other children. She has been hospitalized since the attack during the first week of school.
In a statement posted to their GoFundMe page on Friday, September 12, the Forchas family shared the following update:
Two weeks ago, our beloved Sophia suffered a devastating gunshot wound to the head. Doctors warned us she was on the brink of death. In that darkest hour, the world responded with faithful devotion and fervent prayer. We thank you for all the prayers, love, and unwavering support from across the globe.
Last week, rays of hope emerged. Dr. Walter Galicich shared that Sophia was showing signs of resilience. Wednesday, the hospital upgraded her condition from critical to serious. Her progress to this point is being called miraculous. We are calling it a miracle.
The road ahead for Sophia is steep, but she is climbing it with fierce determination. She is fighting not just for herself, but for every soul who stood by her in prayer.
Please continue to keep Sophia in your hearts and prayers. She is a warrior! And she is winning!!
With gratitude, The Family of Sophia Forchas
Dr. Walter Galicich, Sophia’s neurosurgeon at Hennepin Healthcare, said during a news conference last week that Sophia arrived at the hospital with a gunshot wound to the head and was in critical condition with bilaterally fixed and dilated eyes, indicating very high pressure in her head.
“And if you had told me at this juncture, 10 days later, that we’d be standing here with any ray of hope, I would have said it would take a miracle,” Dr. Galicich said, reports Fox 9 in Minnesota.
The bullet remains in Sophia’s head, as removing it could worsen her condition, according to Dr. Galicich. Doctors removed the left half of her skull to allow room for brain swelling and repaired critical vessels that were injured by the bullet’s path.
The shooting occurred when 23-year-old Robert Westman fired through the church windows before dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The GoFundMe campaign for Sophia has raised over $1.1 million for her medical care and recovery.
Sophia’s mother, a pediatric critical care nurse, was working at the hospital when casualties from the shooting began arriving, before learning that her own daughter was among the critically injured.
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