'We love you, you will always be with us', says father of Minneapolis shooting victim

Jesse Merkel, whose eight-year-old son Fletcher was killed during a shooting at Annunciation Catholic School on Wednesday, read a family statement outside the church targeted by the attacker.

He described his son as a loving boy who enjoyed fishing, cooking and sports.

"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," Mr Merkel said tearfully.