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 on Wednesday, officials said. He then turned the gun on himself.
The shooter, who grew up in Richfield, changed his name to Robin in 2020, when he was 17, KARE 11 reported.
His mother was an employee at the school before her 2021 retirement.
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.
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.
Robin Westman, 23, was named as the shooter who killed two children at Annunciation Catholic School’s church Wednesday
A now-deleted YouTube account believed to belong to the shooter posted disturbing content hours before the massacre
A gunman is dead after he stormed the Annunciation Catholic School’s Church and killed at least two children
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 someone stabbing the drawing repeatedly as he quietly says ‘I’m going to kill myself.’
Other clips posted to the YouTube account show gun parts and semi-automatic rifle and a shotgun. The gun magazines had the names of other mass shooters written on them.
Other phrases written on the magazines included ‘for the children’ and ‘where is you God?’
Police said the gunman parked his vehicle near the school and they will be investigating it as part of their probe.
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.
Police were seen at the home where Westman lived, a short drive from the Catholic school
Parents await news of their children after a reported mass shooting at Annunciation Church
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
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.
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.
