MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – An unexpected picnic was held in a Minneapolis park Sunday for families of the victims of the shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church.
Brandon Chrostowski is a chef from Cleveland, Ohio.
Even though Minneapolis is not his community, Chrostowski said he felt compelled to come to Pearl Park in Minneapolis and help.
“I’m not good at sitting down and doing nothing. I know how to cook,” he said.
So do his two kids, 10-year-old Leo and 8-year-old Lilly.
“It felt like the right thing to do to help people out and bring them back together,” Leo said.
The Cleveland family is Catholic, and Leo and Lilly attend a Catholic grade school.
The family said this makes the tragedy in Minneapolis more personal.
“Here’s the thing: you got to do something with that energy,” he said. “The emotion you feel you have to do something with, and I wasn’t just going to sit and stay back in Cleveland, and work the restaurant, I was going to get up here and do something.”
Pearl Park is just across Interstate 35W from Annunciation Church, giving anyone close to this tragedy easy access to gather.
“We want to bring people together,” Chrostowski said. “We want to bring people together. It’s not a time to be alone, it’s not.”
He said the South Minneapolis community certainly appreciated their cooking.
“Food, comfort, right? It’s just a basic need that he was able to fill for some of us today,” Chrostowski said.
Families lingered a little longer in the park than they may have otherwise, finding small moments of joy when they’re most needed.
“Try to see some positivity in what has been just really a somber week,” Chrostowski said.
Copyright 2025 WCCO via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.
Dining and Cooking