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The shooter who opened fire in the church of a Minneapolis Catholic School, killing two children, has been identified as Robin Westman, 23.
Westman, who was previously known as Robert, fired bullets through the stained glass windows targeting children inside the church at Annunciation Catholic School on Wednesday, authorities reported. Following this, he took his own life.
The shooter, who grew up in Richfield, changed their name to Robin in 2020, at the age of 17, KARE 11 reported.
Westman identified as a transgender woman, according to source.
The killer’s mother was an employee at the school before her 2021 retirement.
The incident resulted in the tragic death of two children, aged eight and ten, while at least 17 others were injured. These included 14 children and three adults, as per official information.
Officials said they are looking into Westman’s motive but said she 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.
Robin Westman, 23, was named as the shooter who killed two children at Annunciation Catholic School’s church Wednesday
A now-deleted YouTube account believed to belong to the shooter posted disturbing content hours before the massacre
A gunman is dead after he stormed the Annunciation Catholic School’s Church and killed at least two children
Police are looking into the disturbing 20-minute video, according to The New York Post.
A video clip seemed to feature a sketch of a church. This was followed by footage of someone repeatedly stabbing the drawing while quietly murmuring ‘I’m going to kill myself.’
Additional videos on the YouTube channel depicted gun components, alongside a semi-automatic rifle and a shotgun. Notably, the gun magazines bore the names of previous mass shooters.
Other phrases written on the magazines included ‘for the children’ and ‘where is you God?’
Police said the gunman parked their vehicle near the school and they will be investigating it as part of their probe.
The shooter was armed with three guns – a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol. He fired all three weapons during the attack, police said.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara stated that the perpetrator approached the church from the side and fired shots through the windows at the children who were seated inside.
‘The individual responsible for these cowardly actions ultimately ended his own life at the back of the church,’ remarked Brian O’Hara, also noting that the assailant’s actions were a ‘calculated act of violence.’
‘This was a deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshipping. The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible,’ said the police chief, who noted that a wooden plank was placed to barricade some of the side doors.
Police were seen at the home where Westman lived, a short drive from the Catholic school
Parents await news of their children after a reported mass shooting at Annunciation Church
It is unclear if the shooter fired any of the weapons from inside the church or carried out the entire mass shooting outside before going inside.
Police said at least two of the church doors appeared to have been blocked by two by fours before the shooting, suggesting the gunman wanted to trap the people inside.
The students at the Catholic grade school had started school on Monday and were attending mass when the shooter stormed the church, which is connected to the school.
Founded in 1923, Annunciation Catholic School had 391 students enrolled for the 2023-24 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The school goes from pre-K to eighth grade.
Hennepin Healthcare, the main trauma hospital in Minneapolis, said in a statement that they received 10 patients, including eight children — aged 6 through 14 — and two adults. Seven were considered to be in critical condition.
Senator Amy Klobuchar told MSNBC a seven-year-old watched as the gunman shot her friends in the back and neck.
‘These kids are doing an all-school Mass and had to watch several of her friends get shot — one in the back, one in the neck,’ Klobuchar said. ‘And they all got down under the pews.’
Recent social media posts from the school show children smiling at a back-to-school event, holding up summer art projects, playing together and enjoying ice pops.
Two children aged eight and 10 were killed in the attack and at least 17 other victims – – 14 children and three adults – were injured, according to authorities
Seven people were shot, one fatally, in a separate mass shooting near a Catholic high school in south Minneapolis yesterday reported Kare11.
Police said the suspect, who escaped in a vehicle and does not appear to have been arrested since, fired around 30 rounds from a high-velocity .223 rifle.
Authorities have not confirmed any connection between the shootings.
