Shot up a bunch of Catholic school kids at their Wednesday mass. 2 dead. Add the Facebook thoughts and prayers to the thoughts and prayers they were doing as they were shot.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/08/27/us/minneapolis-church-shooting
An assailant fired a rifle through the windows of a Catholic church in Minneapolis where students were celebrating their first Mass of the new school year on Wednesday, killing an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old in the pews and injuring 17 others, the police said.
The attacker then died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the rear of the church, the Minneapolis police chief, Brian O’Hara, said at a news conference. Of the 17 people injured, 14 were children, the chief said. Two were in critical condition, he said.
The shooting, at about 8:30 a.m. Central time, took place at the Annunciation Catholic Church, which has a school for children from prekindergarten through eighth grade. Monday was the first day of school, and the all-school Mass on Wednesday is an annual tradition.
Investigators have identified the attacker as Robin Westman, 23, who is believed to have been a former student at the school, according to a law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation. The suspect’s mother is a retired school employee, the official said.
Ellie Mertens, 25, a youth minister at the church, said she was sitting with children in the pews when bullets started ripping through the windows. The shooting lasted for about 2 minutes, she said.
“I was just feet away from this window where it was,” Ms. Mertens said in an interview. “The pew saved my life.”
Chief O’Hara said that at least two doors of the church had been barricaded from the outside. The shooter, who was in his early 20s, also fired a shotgun and a pistol, he said.
“Children are dead, there are families that have a deceased child; you cannot put into words the gravity, tragedy or absolute pain of the situation,” Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis said at the news conference.
Mr. Frey, a vocal advocate for stricter gun laws, added: “Don’t just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now. These kids were literally praying.”
Here’s what else to know:
Witness accounts: Inside the Hennepin County Medical Center emergency room, where multiple victims were taken, Za’khia Jones, 29, was with her fiancée when she saw children who appeared to be bloody being rushed in. “One kid came in and they had rushed her into a room and she was just screaming she didn’t want to die,” Ms. Jones said in an interview. Read more ›
Minnesota violence: The attack was the fourth deadly shooting in the city in just over 24 hours. And the Twin Cities area was rattled in June when a gunman assassinated a state lawmaker and her husband and left another lawmaker and his wife hospitalized with gunshot wounds, setting off a two-day manhunt.
Governor responds: Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota expressed support for the school community in a statement. “I’m praying for our kids and teachers whose first week of school was marred by this horrific act of violence,” Mr. Walz said.
Trump: President Trump spoke with Mr. Walz by phone, a White House official said. Mr. Trump wrote on social media that the White House would continue to monitor the situation, and later signed a proclamation ordering that flags nationwide be lowered to half-staff until Sunday in tribute to the victims.