Annunciation one year later: A trooper reflects on service, compassion and the community

One year ago, the Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis experienced a shooting that affected students, families and the broader community.

As first responders arrived, they found students and staff in immediate need of help. Trooper Eric Ouellette was working near Interstate 35W and Highway 62 when he heard the call over the radio. 

He rushed toward the scene.

Responding when help was needed

Ouellette was among the first to reach the north side of the church, where he came upon about 20 injured students.

He immediately relied on his training to focus on what the children needed at that moment.

“It’s kind of this switch that you have inside you: I’m in work mode at this point. Everything else shuts down. It’s fight, flight or freeze,” Ouellette said. “And I’m a fighter, so you run to where the help is needed.”

Among the students Ouellette helped that day was 10-year-old Victor Greenawalt. 

Victor asked Ouellette a question that has stayed with him. 

“He said, ‘Thank you for your service. Am I gonna die?’ That was it. No tears. Nothing.”

Ouellette answered him. “As long as I’m here, I’m not gonna let you die.”

Ouellette immediately began treating Victor. As additional responders arrived, he advocated for Victor to be brought to the hospital immediately. 

Looking back, Ouellette estimated that about 14 minutes passed from when he arrived on scene until ambulances took the last student who needed care away. But at the time, it felt much longer.

“It felt like hours,” Ouellette recalled. “The time definitely stood still for a while, like with any serious incident.”

Once all the children had been taken for further care, Ouellette remained on scene as parents began arriving. He saw the fear and uncertainty they carried as they rushed to be reunited with their children.

He tried to offer reassurance. Sometimes that meant helping someone get to where they needed to go. Sometimes it meant simply being there. When one mother arrived visibly distraught, Ouellette tried to comfort her.

“I gave her a big hug and said, ‘Everything is going to be okay,’ Ouellette said. “She cried with me and I was also trying to fight back the tears. I needed that hug just as much as she did.”

A connection that continues

The response eventually came to an end, but the experience stayed with Ouellette long after he left Annunciation.

He turned to his family and the State Patrol’s peer support resources.

“I just called my wife once I was cleared from the scene and I just lost it.”

He also emphasized the importance of seeking support after experiencing a traumatic event. 

“At the State Patrol, we have an amazing peer support group. There are resources out there; it’s just making sure you utilize them,” Ouellette said.

In the months that followed, something else came from that difficult day: Ouellette formed a friendship with Victor and his family. They have stayed connected and continue to spend time together.

Ouellette later learned more about what Victor had done during the incident. Victor physically protected another student and suffered injuries in the process. In March, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society recognized Victor with a Citizen Honor Award for his actions. 

Learning more about Victor’s bravery gave Ouellette an even greater appreciation for the boy he helped care for that day. 

“With all my years in the Marine Corps, I’ve seen people in the military and law enforcement who would not do what that kid did that day. That kid is definitely a hero.”

But Ouellette does not view his own actions in the same way.

“I was just there to respond and help.”

Reflecting one year later

One year later, Ouellette says the experience did not change his job. Instead, it reinforced the reason he chose it.

“It expands what I do and why I do it,” Ouellette said. “I’m here for public service and to truly help people at their biggest times of need, whether it’s a small fender bender or a serious incident like this.”

And as he reflects on the past year, his thoughts remain with the students, teachers and other first responders affected.

“These were innocent people living their lives, as they should,” Ouellette said. “Hopefully everybody can find compassion for what they went through and support for what they might need. We’re in this together. We’re all neighbors.”