The shooter who opened fire in the church of a Minneapolis Catholic School, killing two children, has been identified as Robin Westman, 23.
Westman, formerly known as Robert, shot through stained glass windows at the children sitting on the pews inside Annunciation Catholic School’s church at about 8.30am local time Wednesday, officials said. He then turned the gun on himself.
KARE 11 reported Westman’s mother was an employee at the school and that he changed his name to Robin in 2020, when he was 17. He grew up in Richfield.
Two children aged eight and 10 were killed in the attack and at least 17 other victims – – 14 children and three adults – were injured, according to authorities.
The shooter’s identity was first confirmed by the local outlet KSTP. Officials said they are looking into his motive but said he has no extensive known criminal history.
A now-deleted YouTube account believed to belong to Westman shared what appeared to be a manifesto just hours before the shooting.
Police are looking into the disturbing 20-minute video, according to The New York Post.
The video appeared to show a drawing of a church. It then showed a man stabbing the drawing repeatedly as he quietly says ‘I’m going to kill myself.’
Robin Westman, 23, was named as the shooter who killed two children at Annunciation Catholic School’s church Wednesday
A gunman is dead after he stormed the Annunciation Catholic School’s Church and killed at least two children
Parents await news of their children after a reported mass shooting at Annunciation Church
Other clips posted to the YouTube account show gun parts and semi-automatic rifle and a shotgun. The gun parts had the names of other mass shooters written on them.
Police said the gunman parked his vehicle near the school and they will be investigating it as part of their probe.
Officials said in a press conference the shooter was armed with three guns – a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol. He fired all three weapons during the attack, police said.
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.
It is unclear if the shooter fired any of the weapons from inside the church or carried out the entire mass shooting outside before going inside.
Police said at least two of the church doors appeared to have been blocked by two by fours before the shooting, suggesting the gunman wanted to trap the people inside.
The students at the Catholic grade school had started school on Monday and were attending mass when the shooter stormed the church, which is connected to the school.
Two children aged eight and 10 were killed in the attack and at least 17 other victims – – 14 children and three adults – were injured, according to authorities
Founded in 1923, Annunciation Catholic School had 391 students enrolled for the 2023-24 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The school goes from pre-K to eighth grade.
Hennepin Healthcare, the main trauma hospital in Minneapolis, said in a statement that they received 10 patients, including eight children — aged 6 through 14 — and two adults. Seven were considered to be in critical condition.
