Three dead, 20 injured in shooting at Minneapolis Catholic school

MINNEAPOLIS: Two children were killed and 17 other people injured after a gunman opened fire on students attending Mass at a Minneapolis Catholic school on Wednesday (Aug 27), authorities said.

The shooter, armed with a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol, fired dozens of rounds through church windows before taking his own life, police said.

“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 told reporters.

FBI Director Kash Patel said the case was being investigated as an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics. He identified the attacker as Robin Westman, a 23-year-old resident of the area whose name was legally changed from Robert Westman in 2020.

The shooting occurred two days after school started at Annunciation Catholic school, a private elementary school with about 395 students. The school is connected to Annunciation Catholic Church, and both are located in a residential area in the southeast part of Minnesota's largest city.

Police in Richfield, a nearby suburb, said a man dressed all in black with a rifle was reported at the scene. A news conference is expected around 10.30am Central time (11.30pm, Singapore time), according to local TV.

Children were at a morning mass when shooting began, local media reported.

Local TV showed parents ducking under yellow police crime tape and leading students out of the school. The students wore green polo shirts and blue shorts and skirts.

Officials said at least two of the chapel doors had been barricaded from the outside with planks of wood. They also found a smoke bomb at the scene and were searching a vehicle in the parking lot.

CHILDREN AMONG THE VICTIMS

Children’s Minnesota, a local hospital system, said it was treating six children.

The two children killed were 8 and 10 years old, police said. Local hospitals reported treating 14 children and two adults.

One fifth grader told CBS News his friend was shot while trying to protect him. “The shots were like, right next to me. I think I got like gunpowder on my neck,” he said.

The attacker, described as dressed in black, did not have an extensive criminal history, officials said. Public records showed the shooter’s mother had worked as an assistant at Annunciation Church. Police were stationed outside a house listed as the attacker’s residence. Relatives declined to comment.

US President Donald Trump said he had been briefed and that the FBI was on the scene. “Please join me in praying for everyone involved!” he posted on social media.

The US Department of Homeland Security was also monitoring the situation, Secretary Kristi Noem said.

Authorities said law enforcement was also examining multiple online videos posted by the shooter.

SERIES OF SHOOTINGS

There have been more than 140 shootings at US elementary and secondary schools this year, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database.

In Minneapolis alone, three other shootings since Tuesday afternoon, including one at a Jesuit high school, have left three people dead and seven wounded. Authorities said Wednesday’s incident did not appear related.

Minneapolis has experienced a sharp rise in homicides since the 2020 killing of George Floyd, which triggered protests and staffing shortages in the police force.

The city reported 54 homicides in 2024, down from 71 in 2021 but still well above the 29 recorded in 2019.

In May, Minnesota also experienced an outburst of political violence, when a gunman posing as a police officer killed the state House speaker and her husband and wounded a state senator and his wife. The suspect has pleaded not guilty to federal murder charges.