Minneapolis, Aug 28 (UNI) Two children were killed, 14 other children and three elderly parishioners were wounded, after a 23-year-old gunman allegedly fired through the windows of a church in Minnesota on Wednesday morning, while marking the first week of class at Annunciation Catholic School.
The FBI identified the shooter as Robin Westman (23), who died from a self-inflicted wound. He had graduated from the school back in 2017, according to a yearbook, reports CNN.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said Westman released a “manifesto” on YouTube that “included some disturbing writings.”
US Senator Amy Klobuchar told CNN tonight that a former staffer’s daughter witnessed two of her friends get shot — one in the neck and the other in the stomach — during the shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church.
While describing the horrific scene, Klobuchar said there was also incredible bravery and kindness in the moment as older kids made sure to protect the younger children, she said.
Matthew DeBoer, principal of the Annunciation Catholic School, remembered the children who died in the shooting, saying “We lost two angels today.”
Three children are still getting care at Children’s Minnesota, a hospital in the area, while four other patients were discharged, the hospital said in a statement.
The FBI is investigating the shooting as “an act of domestic terrorism and hate crimes targeting Catholics,” FBI Director Kash Patel said, while Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said they don’t have a motive yet to investigate it as a hate crime.
Robin Westman, the suspect in the Minneapolis shooting, posted a video on YouTube showing writings that contained anti-Black, antisemitic and anti-religious messages.
Westman had no prior criminal history and is believed to have acted alone. He used the rifle, shotgun and pistol to carry out the attack which he purchased legally recently.
Police Chief O’Hara said. Westman released a “manifesto” on YouTube that appeared to show the shooter at the scene and “included some disturbing writings.”
Amongst the victims were two children aged 8- and 10-years-old, who were pronounced dead at the scene.
Besides them, 14 other children, between the ages of six and 15, were injured by gunfire. Three other people in their 80s were also shot.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz thanked law enforcement for their “heroic work” and said he spoke to President Donald Trump following the shooting.
Trump, he said, expressed his deep condolences amongst the horror that happened in an offer to provide the support to the folks here in Minnesota of what’s needed.
Trump has ordered all American flags on public buildings to be flown at half-staff until sunset on Sunday in honour of the victims of today’s mass shooting in Minnesota, per a proclamation released by the White House.
Gov Walz also ordered state and US flags to fly at half-staff across state buildings “in honour of the lives lost to gun violence at Annunciation Catholic School.
Past presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton expressed their condolences saying they are heartbroken and praying after the shooting incident.
Pope Leo XIV was also “profoundly saddened” to learn of the deaths and injuries from the mass shooting at Annunciation Church in Minneapolis, the Vatican said Wednesday.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, who represents Minnesota’s fifth district, called for reform following the fatal shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in her district. She went on to say that “we cannot continue to fail our kids with the lack of federal action.”
The shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis is the latest in a string of tragedies the state of Minnesota has endured recently.
Just yesterday, CNN affiliate KARE reported on a shooting across the street from a Catholic high school that killed one person and left six others injured.
In June, state Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman her husband were assassinated in their home, while another lawmaker, state Sen. John Hoffman, and his wife were seriously wounded by the same assailant.
