MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A shooter armed with multiple firearms opened fire through the windows of a Catholic church during a school Mass on Wednesday, killing two children and wounding 17 other people before dying by suicide, authorities said.
The attack occurred just before 8:30 a.m. at Annunciation Catholic School, only two days after the school year began.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the suspect, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, used a rifle to fire dozens of rounds into the church where children were seated in the pews. Westman, who was also carrying a shotgun and a pistol, did not have an extensive criminal history and is believed to have acted alone, O’Hara said.
The children who were killed were 8 and 10 years old. Officials said 14 other children, ages 6 to 15, and three parishioners in their 80s were also wounded but are expected to survive.
“The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible,” O’Hara said during a news conference.
Investigators are still working to determine a motive. O’Hara said authorities were reviewing a social media post from the shooter that contained “some disturbing writings.” FBI Director Kash Patel said on the social media platform X that the shooting is being investigated as an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics.
Fifth-grader Weston Halsne, 10, told reporters he hid in the pews as a friend shielded him. “I was super-scared for him, but I think now he’s okay,” he said.
The shooter’s uncle, former Kentucky state lawmaker Bob Heleringer, told The Associated Press he was stunned by the violence. “He was my nephew, and I wish he had shot me instead of innocent schoolchildren,” Heleringer said.
President Donald Trump said in a statement that he had been briefed on the “tragic shooting” and that flags would be lowered to half-staff.
The attack was the latest in a series of deadly shootings in Minneapolis in a 24-hour period, though officials said it does not appear to be related to the other incidents.
