Gunfire on Church Grounds, Zero Arrests: The Meridan Group Demands Edina Say Whether the Our Lady of Grace Shooting Is Being Investigated as a Hate Crime

Gunfire at Our Lady of Grace marks Edina’s second unsolved shooting since July. The community is demanding answers. And arrests.

EDINA, Minn. (Sept. 25, 2026) — On the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 22, a group in a vehicle opened fire with handguns on teenagers playing basketball at Our Lady of Grace Church on Eden Avenue, then fled. By grace alone, no one was hurt.

This was a church campus that hosts a school, and it was full of young people on a weeknight. Children were put at risk, and that falls on the leadership of Edina.

It is not an isolated event. That $5,000 reward is laughable for what is at stake. Stephen D. Thomas, founder and platform architect of The Meridan Group, has staked $50,000 of his own money to find the shooters still at large.

This is Edina.

Edina was, for generations, the kind of conservative, quiet, well-run suburb families moved to on purpose. Good schools. Safe parks. Church on Sunday and a pickup game on Tuesday night without a second thought. People paid a premium to live here precisely because they would never have to think about gunfire.

That Edina is not gone. But it is being tested, and the people running the city are acting like nothing has changed.

Two shootings at family gathering places in two months, and the official response has been a $5,000 reward and silence. Residents did not sign up for that. They deserve a city government that treats a church parking lot and a neighborhood park with the seriousness those places demand.

Fast response.
No results.

Edina Police responded in under a minute, and The Meridan Group commends that response. But two unsolved shootings at family gathering places in two months demand more than fast response times. They demand results and public accountability.

The Meridan Group calls on the City of Edina and the Edina Police Department to:

Media Contact: [email protected]

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