Parents Preserve Their Son's Bedroom as a Quiet Tribute After School Shooting

In the aftermath of the Aug. 27, 2025 attack at Annunciation Catholic Church and School, Jesse and Mollie Merkel decided to keep their son Fletcher's bedroom exactly as it had been, creating a quiet monument to his eight-year-old life. The untouched room, located on the second floor of their south Minneapolis home, contains personal items such as Lego bricks, a Green Bay Packers shirt, and a Cub Scout uniform, reflecting Fletcher's interests.

Photographer Lou Bopp and the author of this piece filmed the space for the Netflix documentary short "All the Empty Rooms," which records similar rooms nationwide. The Merkels believe that preserving these spaces can give the public a tangible sense of the victims behind the statistics. They plan to document additional bedrooms for as long as school shootings continue in America.

By sharing the intimate details—like a journal entry about stealing cookies—the family hopes to humanize the tragedy and inspire broader empathy. Their effort underscores a desire that no other family endures such loss.