Hundreds gather for funeral for Annunciation shooting victim

Eva Herscowitz and Eleanor Hildebrandt, Star Tribune on Sep 7, 2025

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A funeral is underway for Fletcher Merkel, the 8-year-old boy killed in the Aug. 27 mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church.

The gathering, which is taking place at Mount Olivet Lutheran Church, began at 4 p.m. following a visitation. The service was open to the public and available to watch via livestream.

Hundreds of people filed into the church ahead of the service, including Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and Gov. Tim Walz and his wife, Gwen. Many attendees wore bright colors — a request from the Merkel family — as they passed a display of blue-and-green ribbons, Annunciation’s school colors.

In an obituary, the Merkel family described Fletcher as “always in motion, dancing with every touchdown he scored in flag football, or playing basketball in the driveway with his older brother and neighborhood friends.”

A celebration of life for Harper Moyski, the 10-year-old girl who was also killed in the shooting, will be held Sept. 14 at 12 p.m. at the Lake Harriet Bandshell in Minneapolis.

The scene outside Mount Olivet reflected the pain that has gripped much of Minneapolis since a shooter fired a spray of bullets into the church as children prayed during morning Mass. At least 21 people were injured, most of them students.

A day after the shooting, Fletcher’s father Jesse Merkel said in a tearful appearance outside the church that the family hopes to heal, though “the hole in our hearts and lives will never be filled.”

“We will never be allowed to hold him, talk to him, play with him and watch him grow into the wonderful young man he was on the path to becoming,” Jesse Merkel said.

An obituary described Fletcher as a curious kid with “hair that often defied gravity and an infectious smile.” He loved to cook with his parents, fish with his dad and travel.

“He was looking forward to going to his first Packers game at Lambeau Field this fall, with dreams of being an NFL player one day himself,” the obit read.

The obituary encourages people to donate to a GoFundMe for the family in lieu of flowers. The family, which includes Jesse, Mollie and three other children, will contribute a portion of the funds to a “charitable cause.”

Just weeks before the shooting, Fletcher’s personality reached thousands of Twin Cities residents during a brief on-air moment on KDWB radio. His mother Mollie called into the station so Fletcher and other kids could give their best impression of fireworks for a contest.

On Sunday, those moved by the 8-year-old’s life and death clutched a funeral program featuring a portrait of Fletcher above a powerful phrase: “Forever loved, child of God.”

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