O'Hara goes on to say the gunman was carrying three weapons - a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol.

He describes shooting into a church full of children as "sheer cruelty and cowardice".

"Two young children, aged eight and 10, were killed where they sat in the pews," O'Hara says. "Their parents have been notified."

He adds that 17 other people were injured - 14 of them children.

Two of those children are in critical condition, he says.

Image source, CBS

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara is speaking now and says the city has experienced an "unspeakable tragedy".

He says police responded to the scene just before 08:30 local time (13:30 BST) at Annunciation Church.

He adds that it was a worship service for the children's first week of school.

"During the mass a gunman approached from the outside of the building," he explains, saying the attacker began firing from the church windows.

"He struck children and worshippers that were inside the building," he says.

The mayor says he is "so deeply saddened" and sorry to all the families affected.

He asks people to stand by them and love them, adding, "we need to do everything possible to support them through this time".

He also says a family resource centre has been set up to help them.

“These were Minneapolis families. These were American families, and the amount of pain they are suffering right now is extraordinary,” Frey says.

Frey, a Democrat, makes a pointed reference to a typical political response to mass shootings.

“Don’t just say this is about ‘thoughts and prayers’ right now. These kids were literally praying,” Frey says. “It was the first week of school, they were in a church.”

The briefing has started.

"There are no words that can capture the horror," Mayor Jacob Frey says.

Image source, CBS

Some new pictures have come in from outside the school.

A police cordon remains in place all around the school premises, which - as we showed you a little earlier - is right next to Annunciation Catholic Church.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

As we wait to hear more from police, here’s the latest:

Three people are dead, including the gunman, and 10 are in critical condition at local hospitals, according to the BBC’s US partner CBS News.

Six injured children are being treated at Children’s Hospital of Minnesota, a spokesperson for the facility says.

"Our teams are trained to respond in times of crisis, and are fully prepared to care for impacted children," the statement says. "We will not share more details to respect the privacy of our patients and families."

We're about to hear from local authorities after a shooting in Minneapolis.

You can click Watch live at the top of this page to follow along - and we'll bring you text updates with all the key information.

A resident who says he lives two blocks from where the shooting happened has described hearing the gunfire to local media from his house.

"I said there's no way that could be gunfire because there's so much of it," he says.

"It was sporadic," he adds, saying he thought it sounded like a semi-automatic weapon, like a rifle.

The suspect used a semi-automatic weapon in the shooting, two federal law enforcement sources have told CBS.

The sources say the shooting took place during a school-wide Catholic mass for students in kindergarten to eighth grade.

Two people are dead after the shooting this morning, authorities tell the BBC's US partner CBS News.

Twenty others are reportedly injured - 10 of them are in critical condition.

The gunman died from self-inflicted wounds, authorites tell CBS.

The suspected gunman died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, sources tell the BBC's US partner CBS News.

Image source, EPA

US Attorney General Pam Bondi says federal agents are at the scene of the shooting at the Annunciation Catholic school in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

"My prayers are with everyone involved in this tragedy," she says in a post on X. "Our team will provide updates as we receive them."

Here's a map showing where Annunciation Catholic School is in Minneapolis.

Near the school, groups of students are walking down the street in their green uniforms.

Some are leaving with parents who have their arms around them, are holding their hands, or are carrying younger children.

The families look visibly shaken.

Students have just returned for their first day back from summer break on Monday.

On its Facebook page, Annunciation Catholic School shared photos of dozens of smiling students parking their bikes, holding signs with their grade levels and reuniting after the break.

The school, based within Minneapolis' Annunciation Church, enrols children from preschool through to eighth grade.

Kayla Epstein
US reporter

News of the shooting sent a nearby pet day care into lockdown this morning.

Cody Cronen, manager of City Paws Pet Club on Lyndale Avenue, tells BBC that a local animal hospital first alerted staff to the danger.

"They got all the dogs immediately, got them into their lodging rooms, which is in the back, where there's no windows or anything, so nobody can see what's going on in there," he says.

"I had groomers grab their dogs off the table," he adds.

"Everything went well, it all went smooth. Everyone was professional." Staff and their dogs waited until there was no longer an active shooter situation.

"Everything seems to be a little quieted down," he says about the current situation.

"I mean, I can still look out my window and see the sheriff's helicopter, and they do have the road that we're adjacent to blocked off."

The police will give an update on the situation at 11:30 local time (16:30 BST).

You can click watch live at the top of the page to stay updated.

A few more pictures are coming in to us now.

The police cordon remains in place at the scene, with armed federal officers in place alongside local police and fire services.

Image source, CBS

Image source, CBS

Image source, CBS

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Image source, EPA

We've just heard from President Trump, who takes to Truth Social to say he's been "fully briefed" on the Minneapolis shooting incident.

"The FBI quickly responded and they are on the scene," he writes.

"The White House will continue to monitor this terrible situation."

"Please join me in praying for everyone involved," he adds.

There is nothing on the president's public schedule today other than a lunch with Vice-President JD Vance - meaning that at the moment, we don't expect to hear from him on camera directly.