What we know about the Minneapolis Catholic school shooting : NPR
A police officer carries flowers in front of the school of the Annunciation church after the shooting on Wednesday in Minneapolis.
Abbie Parr / AP
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Abbie Parr / AP
A shooter opened fire on a church in Minneapolis filled with children and other worshipers during a mass to mark the first week of school, killing two children and injuring 17 more people, the authorities said.
The shooter, identified as Robin Westman, 23, died of a self-inflicted ball injury on the scene after pulling the windows of the church from the outside of the building.
On Wednesday, the authorities recovered additional firearms in three residences in the Minneapolis region which, according to them, are linked to the shooter.
Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara said that a reason had not yet been determined. Director of FBI Kash Patel said On X that the attack will be the subject of an investigation as an act of domestic terrorism and a crime of hatred targeting Catholics.
Here’s what you need to know.
What happened?
The shooting occurred just before 8:30 am, the local time near the start of the mass. It took place to mark the first week of lessons at the Catholic School Annunciation, which is next to the church, according to O’Hara.
O’Hara said Westman – using a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol – stood in front of the church and opened fire through his windows.
At a press conference on Wednesday, director of the Annunciation Catholic School, Matthew Deboer, said that staff members had moved students under the “seconds” of the shooting.
“Adults protected children, older children protected young children,” he said. “It could have been much worse without their heroic actions.”
Two children, aged 8 and 10, were killed where they sat in the benches. Seventeen others were injured, including three adult parishioners who were in the 80s and 14 children aged 6 to 15. Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara said all injured victims should recover.
Minnesota children’s hospital officials said on Wednesday that three children stayed at the hospital and that four patients were released.
Who is the suspect?
Westman had legally bought the cannons used during the shooting and had no previous criminal records, according to O’Hara.
He added that the investigators believe that the shooter left YouTube writings and videos as part of the attack.
Videos have shown firearms and weapons magazines marked with handwritten messages referring to the names of previous mass shooters and other details. They also showed the interior of a notebook containing schematic drawings of a church sanctuary room.
In 2020, Westman’s mother asked to change the name of her 17 -year -old Robert child in Robin. In the court documents obtained by NPR, the mother, Mary Grace Westman, wrote: “The minor child identifies as a woman and wants her name to reflect this identification”.
NPR also learned that Westman’s mother previously served in the church where the shooting took place.
Joe Hernandez de NPR contributed to reports.
