Some look to be hunched over as if to keep a low profile over fears anymore bullets would be fired at them. Others also covered their ears as blasts rang out. Two young children, aged 8 and 10, were killed in the shooting while 18 other victims—15 of whom were children—were wounded. Emergency dispatch audio also revealed the moment medical teams urged their colleagues to ‘bring all the gauze you have’ to treat victims.

‘Minneapolis has a possible active shooter,’ one of the first responders said, as others were advised to bring as much medical equipment to the shooting as possible. Another responder relayed over the radio: ‘Bring all the gauze that you have.’ As hospitals were told to prepare for a mass casualty event, the dispatch audio heard one responder say there were ‘two DOAs inside the church’—meaning two would be ‘dead on arrival’.

‘We have… two patients with gunshot wounds to their heads in front. There’s also a critical patient in the rear of the church,’ another responder said over the radio. The shooter barricaded the doors to the church before firing through its stained glass windows, sending a hail of bullets at the children as they sat in the service to mark the beginning of the school year. Police said the two children who lost their lives were killed as they sat in the church pews, while others ducked for cover as the horror unfolded.

A first responder on the 911 audio said they had one child who was ‘currently vitally stable,’ and added that they were ‘possibly just grazed.’ Soon after the shooting, Westman died by suicide, and a dispatcher could be heard relaying: ‘We have one suspect with a gunshot wound to the head—has a rifle and shotgun—he’s down right now.’ More details have emerged about Westman following the shooting.

A name change filing from 2020 reveals Westman identified ‘as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification.’ It was also revealed that the shooter left a chilling memoir attending a military-like school, writing an ode to death titled ‘But Not The End.’ Westman was armed with three guns—a rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol, police said. All were used in the attack and bought legally. Police are now investigating the killer’s motive for the shooting, including probing the disturbing videos posted on Westman’s since-deleted YouTube account.

In one 20-minute video, Westman showed off a kill-kit of ammunition, magazines and firearms, while revealing a twisted obsession with school shooters, along with a dislike of President Donald Trump, and mockery of the Church. Westman also showed the camera pages of handwritten notes in a final letter to family and friends. In the letter, Westman claimed to have cancer caused by a vaping habit.

‘I think I am dying of cancer. It’s a tragic end as it’s entirely self inflicted. I did this to myself as I cannot control myself and have been destroying my body through vaping and other means,’ the shooter wrote. Westman went on to write about wanting ‘to go out on my own means’. ‘Unfortunately, due to my depression, anger and twisted mind, I want to fulfill a final act that has been in the back of my head for years,’ Westman said. The note was signed with the name ‘Robin M Westman, 2002-2025’ and what appeared to be a bird drawing.

As well as the warped letter, the video also showed a stash of gun magazines, with white writing scrawled on them. Several school shooters’ names including ‘Lanza’ for Sandy Hook mass shooter Adam Lanza was seen on some of the cartridges. One of the other cartridges was labeled: ‘For the children.’ 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 .

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. ‘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.’

One of the children still recovering from their injuries has since been identified as 12-year-old Sophia Forchas, who was critically wounded in the attack. Her mother Amy, a pediatric critical care nurse, was treating those injured in the attack at Hennepin Healthcare in the city when her daughter was taken to hospital. ‘Her mother arrived at work to help during the tragedy, before knowing it was her children’s school that was attacked, and that her daughter was critically injured,’ a family friend wrote in a fundraiser.

‘Her parents are by her side, holding onto hope while also trying to support their son through the emotional aftermath.’ Sophia had emergency surgery at her mother’s hospital and doctors were working to stabilize her in the ICU, they added. ‘Her road ahead will be long, uncertain, and incredibly difficult – but she is strong, and she is not alone,’ they wrote.

‘Adding to the heartbreak, her younger brother was also inside the school during the shooting. Though he was physically unharmed, the trauma of witnessing such a terrifying event – and knowing his sister was critically injured – is something no child should ever experience.’