Annunciation Church mass shooting: Girl in serious condition after protecting friend during attack

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A girl was wounded in the Annunciation Church mass shooting while protecting her friend, and her family is asking for support during her journey to recovery. 

Lydia Kaiser was injured while protecting her friend during the first mass of the school year, according to a GoFundMe shared by the Kaiser family. 

Help Lydia and the Kaiser family heal 

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The Annunciation Church mass shooting left Lydia in "very serious condition" after she went through "an unimaginable surgery" for her injuries, according to a GoFundMe organized on her behalf.

The GoFundMe adds that Lydia's father, Harry, is a gym teacher at the school and stayed with the children in the church until they were reunited with their families. 

Harry even stayed with the children inside the church as his own daughter was entering the emergency room, the GoFundMe states. 

Lydia's family is now asking for assistance as she recovers. The family is also asking for prayers as they navigates the challenges ahead. 

As of Friday afternoon, the GoFundMe has raised more than $194,000.

Annunciation mass shooting

The backstory:

At 8:27 a.m. on Aug. 27, the first 911 calls came in about the shooting and several law enforcement agencies responded to a report of a shooting at the Annunciation Church and Catholic School in south Minneapolis. 

A shooter dressed in black approached the outside of the church and opened fire through the stained-glass windows toward children sitting in the pews during mass on their first week back at school. 

The shooter was armed with a rifle, shotgun and pistol, and shot off more than 100 rounds. O'Hara said police recovered three shotgun shells and 116 rifle rounds, as well as one live round that was recovered from a handgun that appears to have malfunctioned. Authorities do not believe the shooter ever entered the church before the shooter died by suicide in the parking lot.

First responders arrived at the scene at 8:31 a.m. and rescued children hiding throughout the church. O'Hara said an officer ran into the church with no helmet or gear.

"The parishioner later told me that was the first time that he, the children and others there had any sense that they might be safe and survive," O'Hara said of the officer running into the church. 

There were 20 victims as a result of the shooting. Two children, 8 and 10, were fatally shot. Another 15 children, between the ages of 6 and 15, were injured by gunfire. Three adults in their 80s who were attending mass were also shot.

Previously, authorities said 14 children were injured in the shooting but officials revised that number to 15 on Thursday morning. O'Hara said on Thursday the child victim, who was identified as the 15th young victim, was taken by private vehicle to a hospital outside the Twin Cities. Police did not receive the report about the child until after the child was treated for a "graze wound" and released. 

READ MORE: Annunciation School shooting: Emergency audio reveals medical response, injuries

All the remaining victims are expected to survive, O'Hara said on Wednesday.

Dig deeper:

Read more about the Annunciation mass shooting:

• What we know so far - Aug. 28 updates
• What we know about the victims 
• What’s known about shooting suspect Robin Westman
• Victim recalls ‘super scary’ attack during mass
• Emergency audio reveals medical response, injuries
• How you can help
• Search warrant reveals new details about the shooter
• What we know about the shooter's motive
• All stories related to the Annunciation Church and School shooting