Minneapolis Catholic school shooting leaves 2 children dead, 17 people injured
Two young children were killed and 17 others were injured in a shooting during a Catholic Mass packed with young students in south Minneapolis Wednesday morning. The shooter is also dead.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said the shooting triggered a massive law enforcement response to Annunciation Catholic Church at West 54th Street between Harriet and Garfield avenues around 8:30 a.m. The church is connected to a school building.
The shooter approached from the outside of the building and fired a rifle through the church windows towards children and worshippers. The shooter also used a shotgun and a pistol that they had legally purchased "recently," O'Hara said.
An 8-year-old and a 10-year-old were killed while they sat in the pews. Of the 17 others injured, 14 are children between the ages of 6 and 15. The three adults were parishioners in their 80s.
At least seven victims were in critical condition when they arrived at a nearby hospital. O'Hara said Wednesday afternoon that everyone who was injured is expected to survive.
"This was a deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshipping," said O'Hara.
Law enforcement sources tell CBS News the shooter was Robin Westman, age 23, who lived about 3.5 miles south of Annunciation in the suburb of Richfield. Westman's mother previously worked at Annunciation and retired in 2021, according to a Facebook post from the church. She served as both a parish secretary for the church and an administrative assistant in the school.
O'Hara said law enforcement executed four search warrants; one was issued for the church itself and three are connected to residences in the metro area that police believe are tied to the shooting.
He also added that law enforcement is aware of videos that the shooter timed to publish on YouTube Wednesday morning. The content has since been taken down and is under review, according to O'Hara. The CBS News Confirmed team has verified several videos that were uploaded to a YouTube account under Westman's name, showing journal entries that described plans for an attack on children, expressed suicidal thoughts and referenced other mass shootings.
O'Hara said the shooter has no extensive criminal history and ultimately died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the back of the church.
When asked if authorities are investigating the shooting as a hate crime, O'Hara clarified that officials are not yet aware of any specific motive.
FBI Director Kash Patel said on X that the bureau is investigating the shooting as an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics.
The Mass marked the beginning of the school year at Annunciation Catholic School.
"Within seconds of this situation beginning, our teachers were heroes," said Matt DeBoer, principal of Annunciation Catholic School. "Children were ducked down. Adults were protecting children. Older children were protecting younger children. It could have been significantly worse without their heroic action. This is a nightmare but we call our staff the dream team and we will recover from this."
The father of an 11-year-old son and a 7-year-old daughter, who both survived Wednesday's shooting, told CNN he was the first person at the scene.
"I ran towards the backside of the school of the church to look for this guy and I couldn't find him probably a minute after," Pedro Maldonado said. "And then the first cop showed up, and I told the cop that [Westman] was in the back of the school and the church, and then the second cop arrived and then I told them as well that he was in the back of the school."
His wife, Carla Maldonado, told CNN she had volunteered with the school when it had a lockdown drill.
"I got to see how the teachers handled the classroom and the kids, and getting them to a safe spot," Carla Maldonado said. "They do have active, dangerous-person-on-the-premises drills, and I have such mixed feelings right now, so many of them."
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said authorities are setting up a family resource center.
"Don't just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now. These kids were literally praying," said Frey. "It was the first week of school, they were in a church. These were kids that should be learning with their friends. They should be playing on the playground. They should be able to go to school or church in peace without the fear or risk of violence and their parents should have the same kind of assurance."
Two prayer services and a candlelight vigil were held in the Twin Cities metro on Wednesday evening to honor the victims of the shooting.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and President Trump ordered flags to fly at half-staff across the state and the entire nation.
"What happened today will not be gone. Minnesotans will not step away. We'll stand with this community. We'll redouble ourselves to do the best we can to understand what we can do to prevent any parents from having to receive the calls they received today," said Walz.
Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social that he had been "fully briefed on the tragic shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota."
"The FBI quickly responded and they are on the scene. The White House will continue to monitor this terrible situation. Please join me in praying for everyone involved," Trump said.
M Health Fairview said one child had been admitted to its Masonic Children's Hospital and is in stable condition. Children's Hospital had seven patients between the ages of 9 and 16, four of whom have been discharged as of Wednesday afternoon.
Hennepin Healthcare, a nearby Level 1 Trauma Center, received 10 patients from the shooting, according to Chair of Emergency Medicine Tom Wyatt. Eight of them were children and two were adults. As of Wednesday night, the hospital says one adult and five children remain in critical condition, while one adult and three children are being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
"We've had two mass casualty events happen in the last 24 hours. That does take a toll," Wyatt said. "But we also have to recognize that we are here as a critical resource for our community and we have to take time to process the care that we deliver in these situations and we have to be able to move forward because we are obviously needed."
Tuesday afternoon, about 4 miles from Annunciation, one person was killed and six others were injured in another mass shooting. O'Hara said the two shootings do not appear to be related.
Since 2020, there have been three shootings in a K-12 school in Minnesota.