RICHFIELD, Minn. \u2014 Investigators were examining the videos, writings, and movements of the shooter who fired through the windows of a Catholic church in Minneapolis, killing two children and wounding 17 people, for connections to the church and its school to understand the motivation for the attack.<\/p>\n
Armed with a rifle, shotgun, and pistol, 23-year-old Robin Westman shot dozens of rounds Wednesday morning toward the children sitting in the pews during Mass at the Annunciation Catholic School, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O\u2019Hara said. The shooter then died by suicide, he said.<\/p>\n
The children who died were 8 and 10. Fourteen other kids and three octogenarian parishioners were wounded but expected to survive, the chief said.<\/p>\n
Just hours after the shooting, hundreds filled a nearby school\u2019s gym Wednesday night, clutching one another and wiping away tears during a vigil alongside Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and clergy members.<\/p>\n
Speaking to a silent crowd crammed shoulder-to-shoulder \u2014 with hundreds more outside \u2014 Archbishop Bernard Hebda described the students trying to shield their classmates as the gunfire erupted.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the midst of that, there was courage, there was bravery, but most especially there was love,\u201d he said at the Academy of Holy Angels, a few miles from the shooting.<\/p>\n
Rev. Dennis Zehren, who was inside the church with the nearly 200 children, said they were almost to the end of the responsorial psalm, which spoke about light in the darkness. That\u2019s when he heard someone yell, \u201cDown, down, everybody down,\u201d as gunshots started.<\/p>\n
Fifth grader Weston Halsne said he ducked for the pews, covering his head, shielded by a friend who was on top of him. His friend was hit, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was super scared for him, but I think now he\u2019s OK,\u201d the 10-year-old said.<\/p>\n
FBI Director Kash Patel said on X that the shooting is being investigated as an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics.<\/p>\n
Westman\u2019s mother had worked at the church for five years, retiring in 2021, according to a church Facebook post that year. It\u2019s not clear if Robin Westman ever attended the church or had been enrolled at the school.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Hara said police had not determined a motive. The chief said, however, that investigators were examining a social media post that appeared to show the shooter at the scene.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Hara, who said the wounded children are ages 6 to 15, said a wooden plank was placed to barricade some of the side doors and that authorities found a smoke bomb at the scene.<\/p>\n
On a YouTube channel titled Robin W, the alleged shooter released at least two videos before the channel was taken down Wednesday. In one, the alleged shooter shows a cache of weapons and ammunition, some with such phrases as \u201ckill Donald Trump\u201d and \u201cWhere is your God?\u201d written on them.<\/p>\n
A second video shows the alleged shooter pointing to two outside windows in what appears to be a drawing of the church, and then stabbing it with a long knife.<\/p>\n
In one video, the alleged shooter mentioned traveling to the nation\u2019s largest gun show in Las Vegas and meeting Texas congressional candidate and gun rights activist Brandon Herrera, who has amassed a large following on YouTube as The AK Guy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI meet thousands of people every year at SHOT Show in Las Vegas in meet-and-greets and such, but I don\u2019t remember this individual at all, nor does anyone I was there with,\u201d Herrera said in a post on X, adding he was \u201csickened and angry\u201d about the violence.<\/p>\n
Westman\u2019s uncle, former Kentucky state lawmaker Bob Heleringer, said he did not know the accused shooter well and was confounded by the \u201cunspeakable tragedy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The police chief said Westman did not have an extensive known criminal history and is believed to have acted alone.<\/p>\n
Federal officials referred to Westman as transgender, and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey decried hatred being directed at \u201cour transgender community.\u201d Westman\u2019s gender identity wasn\u2019t clear. In 2020, a judge approved a petition, signed by Westman\u2019s mother, asking for a name change from Robert to Robin, saying the petitioner \u201cidentifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification.\u201d<\/p>\n
The police chief said officers immediately responded to reports of the shooting, entered the church, rendered first aid and rescued some of the children.<\/p>\n
Annunciation principal Matt DeBoer said teachers and children, too, responded heroically.<\/p>\n
\u201cChildren were ducked down. Adults were protecting children. Older children were protecting younger children,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Vincent Francoual said his 11-year-old daughter, Chloe, survived by running downstairs and hiding in a room with a table pushed against the door. But some details weren\u2019t clear, he said, because she is struggling to communicate clearly about the traumatizing scene.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe told us today that she thought she was going to die,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Walz lamented that children just starting the school year \u201cwere met with evil and horror and death.\u201d He and President Trump ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff on state and federal buildings.<\/p>\n
From the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV sent a telegram of condolences. The Chicago-born Leo, history\u2019s first American pope, said he was praying for relatives of the dead.<\/p>\n
Monday had been the first day of the school year at Annunciation, a 102-year-old school in a leafy residential and commercial neighborhood south of downtown Minneapolis.<\/p>\n
In an appearance Thursday morning on ABC\u2019s Good Morning America, Frey, the mayor, said the city is united in grief and will be united in action.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople who say that this is not about guns. You got to be kidding me. This is about guns. We do need to take action,\u201d Frey said. \u201cThere are other countries around the world where horrific acts have taken place like this and then they step up to make a change so that it, in fact, does not happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n
The shooting at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis has left the community in shock and grief. The investigation into the motive behind the attack is ongoing, but it is clear that the shooter had a history of violent and disturbing behavior. The city is coming together to support the victims and their families, and there are calls for action to be taken to prevent such tragedies from happening again.<\/p>\n
A: A shooter, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, fired through the windows of the church, killing two children and wounding 17 people.<\/p>\n
A: The shooter was 23-year-old Robin Westman, who died by suicide after the attack.<\/p>\n
A: The investigation into the motive is ongoing, but the FBI is investigating it as an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics.<\/p>\n
A: The city is coming together to support the victims and their families, with vigils and other events being held to show solidarity and offer comfort.<\/p>\n
A: There are calls for action to be taken to prevent such tragedies from happening again, including stricter gun control laws and increased support for mental health services.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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