Frequent violence against Catholic churches was well documented before Minnesota shooting

Violence against Catholic churches has been on the rise for the past few years, both secular and religious organizations have warned. Now, some are levying criticism at state and federal authorities for what they have said was an inadequate response to such concerns following Wednesday's shooting at Minneapolis's Annunciation Catholic School that left two young children dead.

Data collected by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, CatholicVote, and the A-Mark Foundation all point to high levels of vandalism, arson, threats, and shootings targeting Catholic churches in recent years. Some Minnesotans and national political commentators have said that, given these threats were known long before the shooting, the response of public safety officials was lacking.

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