Two Children Reported Dead in U.S. Minneapolis School Shooting
(MENAFN) A mass shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis on Wednesday morning left two children dead and 17 others wounded, in what federal authorities are now calling a targeted act of domestic terrorism and hate.
The gunman, identified as Robin Westman, opened fire just before 8:30 a.m. local time, firing through the windows of a church during a school Mass, according to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara. The shooter, armed with a rifle, shotgun, and pistol, later died by suicide inside the church.
“There were 2 fatalities, an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old. In addition, 14 children and 3 adults were injured,” Kash Patel, Director of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), confirmed in a post on social media platform X.
Patel stated that the FBI is treating the incident as “an act of domestic terrorism and hate crimes targeting Catholics.”
The 23-year-old suspect, a Minneapolis-area resident, had briefly attended Annunciation Catholic School, the same school where the attack occurred, local news outlet Minnesota Star Tribune reported. A 2021 Facebook post from the church noted that Westman’s mother had previously served in a hospitality role at the parish.
Chief O’Hara revealed the existence of a pre-scheduled manifesto intended for release on YouTube at the time of the shooting. “We are also aware of a manifesto that the shooter had timed to be released on YouTube,” he said, adding that it featured disturbing writings and images from the crime scene. The video has since been removed with assistance from the FBI and remains under active review.
The tragedy marks the fifth planned school shooting involving an active shooter in the U.S. this year, according to media.
So far in 2025, the country has recorded 286 mass shootings, based on data from the Gun Violence Archive, which defines mass shootings as incidents in which four or more people, excluding the shooter, are shot or killed.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz shared a message of solidarity on X: “I'm praying for our kids and teachers whose first week of school was marred by this horrific act of violence.”
“All of our kids should be able to go to school or church or anywhere without the fear of gun violence,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey wrote in his own post.
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