The mother of the shooter who opened fire on a Minneapolis Catholic church Mass on Wednesday is not cooperating with investigators as they try to determine what led to the tragic events that left two children dead and 18 others injured, including 15 children.
Fox News learned the shooter’s mother, Mary Grace Westman, has retained criminal defense attorney Ryan Garry.
When asked why the mother obtained a criminal attorney, Garry told Fox, “She is completely distraught about the situation and has no culpability but is seeking an attorney to deal with calls like this.”
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said dozens of interviews have been conducted with the shooter’s relatives, friends and associates, as well as those who witnessed the carnage unfold at Annunciation Catholic Church.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara stands outside the Annunciation Catholic School following a mass shooting, Wednesday, in Minneapolis. (Bruce Kluckhohn/AP)
At around 8:30 a.m., the suspect fired dozens of rounds into the church, shattering stained-glass and pew-side windows as terrified students and parishioners ducked for cover.
Authorities have not yet released a motive, though they have uncovered a manifesto the shooter had timed to be released on YouTube. The video has since been taken down and is under investigation.
The manifesto, police added, appeared to show Westman at the scene and included disturbing writings.
FBI Director Kash Patel said Thursday the agency’s investigation into the “barbaric” attack suggests the attack was an act of domestic terrorism “motivated by a hate-filled ideology.”
He noted that the manifesto and writings on firearms displayed anti-Catholic and anti-religious references.
Specifically, the shooter expressed hatred and violence toward Jewish people and wrote things like “Israel must fall,” “Free Palestine” and used explicit language related to the Holocaust, Patel said.
