‘The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible,’ said Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara.
A shooter killed two children and injured 17 others when he opened fire during Mass at a Minneapolis Catholic school on Aug. 27, officials said.
The shooter, Robert “Robin” Westman, whom law enforcement said is a man in his early 20s, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound moments later. Fourteen of the 17 people injured were children, police said, two of whom were in critical condition.
Here’s what we know so far.
Shooter Opened Fire in the Middle of Mass
The shooting occurred during Mass at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis on Wednesday, two days after the first day of class of the new school year.
“This was a deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshiping. The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible,” Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said at a news conference.
Authorities evacuated the school, and students’ families were directed to a “reunification zone.”
“Don’t just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said at the news conference with O’Hara. “These kids were literally praying. It was the first week of school. They were in a church.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called the shooting a “horrific act of violence” in a post on X.
“From the officers responding, to the clergy and teachers providing comfort, to the hospital staff saving lives, we will get through this together,” he wrote in another post.
Victims Mostly Children
Officials said the two children killed were 8 and 10, and were fatally shot while in the church pews celebrating a Mass during the first week of school. It’s not clear how many people were present in the church when the shooting occurred, and authorities have not released the identities of the victims.
Hennepin Healthcare’s chair of emergency medicine, Thomas Wyatt, said the hospital treated 10 patients after the shooting, including eight children ages 6 through 14 and two adults.
Seven children ages 9 through 16 were also admitted to Children’s Minnesota, a trauma center dedicated to pediatric care, the facility said in a statement.
Shooter Identified
The shooter was Robert “Robin” Westman, according to FBI Director Kash Patel. Westman was armed with a rifle, shotgun, and pistol and approached the side of the church before shooting through the windows toward the children inside, O’Hara said. Authorities believe Westman fired all or most of the shots from outside the church before killing himself in the parking lot.
Officials did not say if Westman had any known connections to the school. Potential motives are still under investigation, but officials said he does not have an extensive known criminal history and likely acted alone. Patel said the FBI is investigating the shooting as an “act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics.”
Authorities previously said Westman was in his early 20s.
Catholic School, Grades Pre-K to 8th
Founded in 1923, Annunciation Catholic School had 391 students enrolled for the 2023-24 school year, and has a student-to-teacher ratio of roughly 14-to-1, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. With grades pre-kindergarten through 8th, each grade level has two classes and roughly 20 students per class.
The school is in Minneapolis’s tree-lined Windom neighborhood, about five miles south of downtown. Social media photos from the first day of school on Monday show students in green uniforms smiling, greeting one another at bicycle racks, and sitting together.
Annunciation Catholic School’s website says teachers “focus on Christian values and civic-mindedness.”
Investigation Underway
In addition to investigating the shooting as a targeted act of domestic terrorism and an anti-Catholic hate crime, Patel said the FBI will provide updates to the public as its investigation proceeds. Law enforcement said previously it was investigating whether Westman had any known connections to the school.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) said it had completed a tracing of the firearms—the rifle, shotgun, and pistol—found at the school.
“ATF completed the urgent traces of the recovered firearms and has provided that information to all investigative partners involved in the shooting at Annunciation Church this morning,” the agency’s St. Paul office wrote in a post on X. “This information is for investigative partners only and will not be released to the public.”
The City of Minneapolis wrote on X that “there is no active threat to the community at this time,” but warned residents to stay away from the area while emergency personnel help victims.
President Donald Trump has been briefed on the shooting. He signed a proclamation ordering all flags at federal buildings to be flown at half-staff “as a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence,” the White House wrote on X.
“Our federal agents are on the scene of the horrific shooting at the Annunciation Catholic school in Minneapolis, Minnesota,” Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on X.
