Minneapolis, Minnesota - Multiple law enforcement agencies responded Wednesday morning to a shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis, with officials saying that the attacker had been "contained."

Local media, citing police sources, reported that the shooter was dead. No confirmed details on any victims were available, but Reuters cited a Justice Department official who said at least two other people were killed, with some 20 injured.

"I've been briefed on a shooting at Annunciation Catholic School and will continue to provide updates as we get more information," Minnesota Governor Tim Walz wrote on X, adding that the state's police force were on scene.

The school is located alongside its associated church in the south of Minneapolis.

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Live video footage showed parents retrieving their young children and departing, amid a significant emergency response.

When reached by phone, a person at the school told AFP "we are in the process of getting our kids out of the building."

The city's official X account later said that the "shooter is contained and "there is no active threat to the community at this time."

It urged people to "stay away from the area to allow emergency personnel to help victims," it added, without specifying how many injuries or deaths had occurred.

"I'm praying for our kids and teachers whose first week of school was marred by this horrific act of violence," Walz said.

President Donald Trump also said he had been briefed on the "tragic shooting" and that the FBI was responding.

"The White House will continue to monitor this terrible situation. Please join me in praying for everyone involved!" he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Two children ages 8 and 10 were shot dead in the attack, with 17 people injured, 14 of them children, police said on Wednesday.

Two of the wounded are said to be in critical condition.

The gunman "began firing a rifle through the church windows towards the children sitting in the pews at the mass," Minneapolis police chief Brian O'Hara told reporters.

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"This was a deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshiping. The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible," he said.

"Our hearts are broken for the families who have lost their children, for these young lives that are now fighting to recover, and for our entire community that has been so deeply traumatized by this senseless attack," O'Hara added."

The tragedy is the latest in a long line of school shootings in the US, where guns outnumber people and attempts to restrict access to firearms face perennial political deadlock.

"Don't just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now. These kids were literally praying. It was the first week of school. They were in a church. These are kids that should be learning with their friends," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey told reporters.

"They should be playing on the playground. They should be able to go to school or church in peace without the fear or risk of violence."