Minneapolis school shooting: What we know

Two children have been killed and 17 people injured after a shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis, Minnesota state, US officials say.

The attack happened just before 08:00 local time (13:00 GMT) on Wednesday at Annunciation Church, where children had been attending a worship service during their first week of school.

The attacker died at the scene of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The FBI is investigating the incident as an “act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics.”

Here’s what we know about what happened.

The attacker has been identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, from suburban Minneapolis.

Westman’s motive is currently unknown.

The attacker – described as being dressed in all black – approached the side of the church, which also houses a school, and fired dozens of shots through the windows using three firearms – a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol. Police also found a smoke bomb at the scene.

Officials are investigating if the suspect shot inside the building or if all the shots came from outside the church, noting that no casings from bullets were found inside.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the attacker did not have an “extensive known criminal history”, and acted alone.

Police did find a “manifesto” the suspect timed to publish on YouTube at the time of the shooting. The FBI assisted officials and took it down.

The attacker’s mother, Mary Grace Westman, previously worked at the school, according to a school newsletter from 2016. A post on Facebook says she retired from the role in 2021.

“Our hearts are broken for the families who have lost their children”, O’Hara said, as well as for the young lives “fighting to recover” and for “the entire community that has been so deeply traumatised by this senseless attack”.

Two children, aged eight and 10, were killed. Seventeen people were also injured, 14 of whom are children.

The three adults who were injured are all parishioners in their 80’s, O’Hara said.

Thomas Wyatt, chairman of emergency medicine at Hennepin County Medical Center, said seven children aged between six and 14 years old were brought to his department and were in critical condition, with four needing surgery.

Non-critical patients were taken to other hospitals.

All injured victims are expected to survive, officials said.

A 10-year-old boy who survived the attack told CBS affiliate WCCO that his friend saved him from bullets by lying on top of him.

“I was like two seats away from the stained glass window,” he said. “My friend, Victor, saved me though, because he laid on top of me, but he got hit.”

“My friend got hit in the back, he went to the hospital… I was super scared for him but I think now he’s okay,” he said.

“These were Minneapolis families,” Mayor Jacob Frey said during a briefing. “These were American families, and the amount of pain they are suffering right now is extraordinary.”

Making a pointed reference to what some perceive as political responses to mass shootings, Frey – a Democrat – said: “Don’t just say this is about ‘thoughts and prayers’ right now. These kids were literally praying.”

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said President Donald Trump and his team had expressed their “deep condolences” and offered assistance.

He said the situation was “all too common – not just in Minnesota, but across the country”, adding that he hoped no community or school ever had to go through a day like this.

Trump later said the US flag would be flown at half-mast at the White House as a show of respect to the victims.

Annunciation Catholic Church and its faith-based school is for students from preschool (nursery-level) up to Grade 8 (aged 14 years old), according to its website.

It is located in a residential area of southern Minneapolis.

The Catholic school’s approach to teaching is one of faith-based learning.

The school added that religion “compels” it to engage with its local community. It also has a sister school in Haiti.

Principal Matt DeBoer spoke at a press conference on Wednesday and began his remarks by saying “I love you, I’m so sorry this happened today”.

He thanked well-wishers for their thoughts and prayers and asked people to “pray with our feet” to take action against future shootings.