Updated August 27, 2025 at 6:44 PM CDT
Two children were killed and 17 people were injured — 14 of them children — in a shooting Wednesday morning at a Minneapolis Catholic school, as students, staff and parishioners were gathered for a Mass to mark the first week of classes.
The shooter, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, was found dead in the back of the church from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara. Authorities say they are still investigating Westman's motive for the attack.
"This was a deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshipping," O'Hara told reporters. "The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible."
Authorities say Westman fired through the windows of Annunciation Church from outside at around 8:30 a.m. local time. The church is located next to Annunciation Catholic School.
The two children who died, ages 8 and 10, were killed as they sat in the pews. The other children shot in the attack ranged in age from six to 15 years old, while the three adults injured were parishioners in their 80s. All of those injured are expected to recover, O'Hara said.
Principal Matthew DeBoer said those inside the church acted quickly and heroically in the moments after the shooting began. "Children were ducked down. Adults were protecting children. Older children were protecting younger children," he said at a press conference hours after the attack. "Never again can we let this happen."
Dr. Thomas Wyatt, the chair of emergency medicine at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, told reporters that the Level I trauma center was treating 11 patients, nine of whom are students.
Children's Minnesota hospital told NPR on Wednesday evening that it had treated seven shooting survivors. Four have since been released. "Our thoughts are with all the victims, their families and loved ones in our communities who are impacted by yet another senseless act of violence," the hospital said in a statement. "We will not share more details to respect the privacy of our patients and families."
"You cannot put into words the gravity, tragedy or absolute pain of the situation," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said during a news conference. "Don't just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now, these kids were literally praying," he added. "It was the first week of school, they were in a church."
Speaking at a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said the young students looking forward to the start of the new school year were met with "evil and horror and death."
"We often come to these [press conferences] and say, 'these unspeakable tragedies' or 'there's no words for this,'" Walz said. "There shouldn't be words for these types of incidents because they should not happen."
FBI Director Kash Patel first identified the shooter as Westman in a post on X. In 2020, Westman's mother applied to change the name of her 17-year-old child from Robert to Robin. In court documents obtained by NPR, the mother, Mary Grace Westman, wrote, "minor child identifies as female and wants her name to reflect that identification."
Patel said the FBI would investigate the shooting as an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime against Catholics.
Westman was armed with a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol — all of which authorities believe were fired during the attack — according to O'Hara. The weapons were purchased recently and legally, he added.
Investigators were reviewing writings by Westman that were timed to be released on YouTube during the shootings, O'Hara also said.
A woman with the same name as Westman's mother previously worked at the church where the shooting took place, though police have yet to confirm the connection. In a 2021 Facebook post, Annunciation Church celebrated the retirement of Mary Grace Westman, saying she had "provided such wonderful hospitality, friendship and compassion to all who gathered for the last five years at Annunciation."
President Trump said in a post on Truth Social earlier in the day that he had been briefed on the shooting and that the FBI was on the scene. "The White House will continue to monitor this terrible situation. Please join me in praying for everyone involved!" he said.
On Wednesday, Trump signed a proclamation ordering flags to be flown at half-staff at the White House and other federal locations to honor the victims of the shooting.
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