Investigators are probing the motives behind a mass shooting at a Minneapolis church on Wednesday that left two children dead and 17 others wounded, in what federal authorities are treating as both a hate crime and an act of domestic terrorism.
Police said the attacker, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, opened fire with multiple weapons through the windows of Annunciation Church as pupils gathered for a Mass marking the first week of the school year.
“Two young children, ages eight and 10, were killed where they sat in the pews,” city police chief Brian O’Hara told reporters. Fourteen other children were wounded but expected to survive, along with three elderly parishioners.
Westman, a former student of the affiliated Catholic school, died by suicide in the church parking lot after firing a rifle, shotgun and pistol — all of which had been recently purchased legally.
Videos later surfaced showing a manifesto in which Westman described the weapons used and included disturbing sketches. Authorities have not released a clear motive.
A 10-year-old survivor told CBS that he escaped death because a classmate shielded him. “My friend Victor saved me… he laid on top of me, but he got hit,” he said.
The FBI confirmed it is leading the investigation, with Director Kash Patel calling the case “a hate-motivated act of domestic terrorism targeting Catholics.”
Vigils and grief
More than 600 people attended a vigil on Wednesday evening. “The family worked hard with this child who had a lot of problems,” said Louise Fowler, who knew the suspect’s mother through the church.
President Donald Trump ordered flags flown at half-staff, while Pope Leo XIV said he was “profoundly saddened.” Former president Barack Obama condemned the killings as “yet another act of unspeakable, unnecessary violence.”
Archbishop Bernard Hebda of Minneapolis urged an end to America’s cycle of gun violence, noting that the attack came just a day after another shooting near the city.
Mayor Jacob Frey cautioned against scapegoating vulnerable communities in the aftermath. “Anybody using this as an opportunity to villainize our trans community, or any other community, has lost their sense of common humanity,” he said.
“We’ve got more guns in this country than we have people,” Frey added. “We can’t just say this shouldn’t happen again and then allow it to happen again and again.”
According to the Gun Violence Archive, the Minneapolis attack was the 287th mass shooting in the United States so far this year.
