Chilling photographs have surfaced showing children at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis smiling brightly as they began their school year, just days before a tragic event unfolded.

The students, dressed in their school uniforms, appear joyfully in a group photo shared on social media. The post was accompanied by the hashtag #AFutureFilledwithHope.

In another image, the children gathered around a school cafeteria lunch table as one sat with her arm in a cast. 

These joyful images were posted online merely two days prior to the horrific mass shooting that occurred during a church service meant to celebrate the start of the school year, where it is feared many were wounded.

Two children aged eight and 10 were killed in the attack and at least 17 others – 14 children and three adults – were injured. 

Authorities identified the shooter as 23-year-old Robin Westman, who reportedly fired through the stained glass windows at children seated inside the church’s pews around 8:30 am local time.

Westman was armed with three guns – a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol – police said. All were used in the attack and purchased legally.  

As first responders raced to the scene, Westman – who is transgender and previously went by Robert – turned the gun on herself.

Westman, who grew up in Richfield, changed her name when she was 17. Her mother worked at the school before retiring in 2021.

The shooter’s identity was first confirmed by the local outlet KSTP. Officials said they are looking into a motive but said Westman has no extensive known criminal history.

A now-deleted YouTube account believed to belong to Westman shared what appeared to be a manifesto just hours before the shooting.

The video appeared to show a drawing of a church. It then showed a woman stabbing the drawing repeatedly as she quietly says ‘I’m going to kill myself.’

At other points in the chilling clip, she could be heard repeatedly whispering to herself, ‘There are bugs in my skin.’ 

Other clips posted to the YouTube account show gun parts and semi-automatic rifle and a shotgun. The gun parts had the names of other mass shooters written on them.

Police said the gunman parked his vehicle near the school and they will be investigating it as part of their probe, and said he may have barricaded the doors before opening fire. 

Officials said in a press conference the shooter was armed with three guns – a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol. He fired all three weapons during the attack, poli

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the shooter approached the side of the church and shot through the windows toward the children sitting in the pews.

In the aftermath of the shooting spree, distraught parents condemned the horror scenes and said it began as children were packed into pews to start the service.

‘He just pepper-sprayed through the stained-glass windows into the building, 50 to 100 shots,’ the parent, who did not want his name used, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

‘This is terrible,’ he added. ‘This is evil. I don’t know how you defend against this.’

The outlet also reported a young boy being led away from the scene by his father was heard telling him: ‘I don’t feel safe.’

Jason Johnson, a caseworker who works nearby, said the gruesome shooting is especially emotional for him as a new father of a two-year-old girl.

‘This is a place where children should be safe,’ he said. 

Kevin Kenney, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, told the Star Tribune that he headed over to the scene after hearing of the shooting to try to help console witnesses. 

He said he had spoken with two families with loved ones that were involved, ‘just to give them some kind of hope on such a devastating situation.’

Kenney added that some children were waiting to hear how their brothers or sisters were doing, and described the aftermath as ‘horrific.’ 

Many of the families are ‘in shock, disbelief,’ he said, and were trying to come to terms with the tragedy that came as they were celebrating the start of the school year.