FBI investigating shooting as act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics
The FBI is investigating the school shooting in Minneapolis as an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics, the bureau’s director Kash Patel has announced in a post on X.
Patel continued:
There were 2 fatalities, an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old. In addition, 14 children and 3 adults were injured. The shooter has been identified as Robin Westman, a male born as Robert Westman. The FBI will continue to provide updates on our ongoing investigation with the public as we are able.
Key events
Asked if this is being investigated as a hate crime targeting Catholics, O’Hara repeats that there is no motive established at this time.
There is no update to share on a motive at this time, O’Hara says, adding that investigators have search warrants for three locations.
He earlier told the news conference the shooter had scheduled a manifesto to be released on YouTube.
O’Hara said it “appeared to show him at the scene and included some disturbing writings”.
He added that the content has now been taken down with the assistance of the FBI.
All of the remaining victims are expected to survive, O’Hara has just told reporters.
Minnesota governor Tim Walz also told the news conference that the shooting will have a lasting impact on the community after the news cycle move on.
“A lot of cameras here, and unfortunately, we’ve been through these types of things. They will be gone at some point. All of you, you have to do your jobs,” Walz said, referring to reporters. “But what happened here today will not be gone.”
Minnesotans will not step away. We’ll stand with this community.
Firearms were lawfully purchased by the shooter, police confirm
There was a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol which had all been lawfully purchased by the shooter, O’Hara said, adding it is believed the shooter acted alone.
At this point, there are 19 victims –two children aged eight and 10 who were pronounced dead on the scene, and another 14 children who were injured along with three adults in their 80s who were parishioners, Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara said in an update.
Minneapolis mayor calls for action on gun violence and hits out at those ‘villainizing trans community’
“Anybody who is using this as an opportunity to villainize our trans community has lost their sense of common humanity,” said Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey just now.
We should not be operating from a place of hate for anyone. We should be operating from a place of love for our kids. This is about them.
“As horrible as this has been, it could have been far worse,” Frey went on.
I think the impetus has to be on all of us as leaders to do a whole lot more to recognise that we’ve got more guns in this country than we have people. And it’s on all of us to recognize the truth and the reality that we can’t just say that this should not happen again and then allow it to happen again and again beyond that.
“It’s certainly a day and a news conference that no one wants to be at,” Minnesota governor Tim Walz has just told the news conference on the shooting.
Children were met with “evil and horror and death”, he said, adding:
We often come to these and say these are unspeakable tragedies or there are no words for this. There shouldn’t be words for these kinds of incidents because they should not happen. And there’s no words that are going to ease the pain of the families today.
Pope Leo ‘profoundly saddened’ by school shooting
Pope Leo XIV was “profoundly saddened” to learn of the deaths and injuries from the mass shooting, the Vatican said in a statement reported by CNN.
“He sends his heartfelt condolences and the assurance of spiritual closeness to all those affected by this terrible tragedy, especially the families now grieving the loss of a child,” said Vatican secretary of state Pietro Parolin.
The Pope is praying for the victims, first responders and clergy, and sends his blessings to the school and community, Parolin added.
Minneapolis city leaders and law enforcement were due to hold a news conference at 2.30pm local time (3.30pm ET) to provide an update on the shooting, though that seems to be running slightly late. I’ll bring you any updates from that when it happens.
FBI investigating shooting as act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics
The FBI is investigating the school shooting in Minneapolis as an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics, the bureau’s director Kash Patel has announced in a post on X.
Patel continued:
There were 2 fatalities, an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old. In addition, 14 children and 3 adults were injured. The shooter has been identified as Robin Westman, a male born as Robert Westman. The FBI will continue to provide updates on our ongoing investigation with the public as we are able.
Asked what was going through his head as he hid under a pew during the attack, a 10-year-old witness told reporters: “I covered my head. My friend Victor saved me though, because he laid on top of me. But he got hit.”
Reporters asked him if they had practised for such [active shooter] scenarios, to which the child said yes, but added: “We never practised it in the church though, only in school, so it was way different.”
He described feeling “relief” and “very happy” seeing his mother after it had happened. “It was super scary,” he said, adding that he was praying for his friend that got shot.
And the Minnesota Vikings football team shared this statement:
The Minnesota Twins baseball team has shared a statement on X in reponse to the school shooting.
“The taking of innocent lives in a place of learning and worship is incomprehensible,” the statement reads. “We mourn this tragedy and yearn for a future where such violence no longer shatters lives.”
Shooter’s uncle decries ‘unspeakable tragedy’
Westman’s uncle, former Kentucky state lawmaker Bob Heleringer, said he did not know the accused shooter well and was confounded by the violence: “It’s an unspeakable tragedy.”
“We’re praying for my sister and her other children and also, obviously, for these poor, poor children,” Heleringer told the Associated Press. He said he had last seen Westman at a family wedding three or four years ago.
The shooter’s identity has been confirmed as 23-year old Robin Westman, according to law enforcement officials speaking to local news outlets.
Records reviewed by Kare 11 showed that Westman had grown up in Richfield and that Westman’s mother was an employee at Annuciation School before retiring in 2021.
Further records reviewed by the outlet showed that Westman had put in an application at 17-years old for a name change from Robert to Robin. The request was granted in January 2020, Kare 11 reports.
Barack Obama has condemned the mass shooting in Minneapolis where two children were killed.
Writing on X, Obama said:
We can’t allow ourselves to become numb to mass shootings. What happened today in Minneapolis is heartbreaking, and Michelle and I are praying for the parents who have lost a child or will be sitting at their hospital bedside after yet another act of unspeakable, unnecessary violence.
Rachel Leingang
A young man who grew up in the nearby neighborhood to Annunciation church and school dropped white flowers at the stoplight near the site.
He heard about the shooting and headed over to pay his respects, tearfully telling reporters that the violence left him shaken.
The church holds a fair, which just happened earlier this summer, and is very much a part of the community, he said.
Voters of Tomorrow, the US’s largest youth-led voter outreach organization, has released the following statement in response to this morning’s mass shooting in Minneapolis:
Our hearts break for the Annunciation Catholic School Community. We offer our sincerest condolences to the victims, survivors, and their loved ones as they navigate this difficult time.”
“At the start of a new school year, kids should be excitedly greeting their teachers and friends, not mourning their classmates. However, this back-to-school season has been marked by daily threats, false alarms, and this horrific tragedy at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis.”
“While decades of lawmakers have failed to enact a comprehensive solution to the gun violence crisis, only this administration has worked to deliberately undo what little progress we have made. With every grant cut and regulation repealed, Trump tells our generation that our lives matter less than the interests of the gun lobby. Trump has students’ blood on his hands.”
