Minneapolis church shooter’s mother hires criminal defense attorney
The mother of the shooter who opened fire on Wednesday in a Catholic school in Minneapolis during the morning mass hired a criminal defense lawyer because the police said that she could not reach her.
Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara said that Robin Westman’s family cooperated with investigators, but that they had not yet located his mother, Mary Grace Westman. The files show that his residence is in Florida.
He said the investigators had done dozens of interviews with the family, friends and partners of the shooter, and spoke to the father of the shooter.
“I know that we have not yet managed to speak to the mother of the shooter at the moment,” said O’Hara at a press conference on Thursday.
Mary Grace Westman’s lawyer Ryan Garry told NBC News on Thursday that he had no comments at that time. The FBI and the police service did not immediately respond to a request for comments on Friday.
Authorities often seek to speak with families of mass shooters when they investigate a reason. In a high -level case following a shooting in 2021 at the Oxford High School in Michigan, the parents of Shooter Ethan Crumble were charged and recognized as guilty of manslaughter.
James and Jennifer Crumble was sentenced in April 2024 to 10 to 15 years in prison. Their son pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Police did not say that Mary Grace Westman or no family member is potentially confronted with accusations. O’Hara told journalists on Thursday that the department will continue to talk about the mother of the shooter.
Wednesday’s unleashing took place just before 8:30 a.m., the local time at the Annunciation Catholic School after the authorities said that the 23 -year -old had pulled by church windows. A motif remains clear.
Two children, 8 -year -old Fletcher Merkel and Harper Moyski, 10, were killed. Fifteen other children, aged 6 to 15, were injured, as well as three adult parishioners in the 1980s.
Thursday morning, two of the victims stayed in critical condition, said a hospital official.
The shooter used three different firearms to carry out the attack, according to a press release Thursday. Police said 116 rifle coils, three hunting rifle businesses and a living pistol tower had been recovered on the scene.
Video surveillance seems to confirm that the shooter has not entered the church.
“The practice of locking the doors once mass started has probably prevented a worse incident,” said a police press release. “At the same time, the suspect tried to barricade a door from the outside, preventing the exit from the church.”
The shooter, who was a trans woman, died by suicide after the shooting. The authorities said that the shooter had been a student at the Annunciation Catholic School and that his mother had worked there.
Four search mandates were executed in church as well as locations in South Minneapolis, Richfield and St. Louis Park, the police said. Investigators brought together hundreds of evidence, including electronics and writings, police said.
