Two children were killed and 17 people injured in a mass shooting at a Catholic church in Minneapolis on Wednesday, with police crediting locked church doors for preventing a greater tragedy. The shooter, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, attempted to enter the Annunciation Catholic school church during morning mass but was unable to get inside, instead firing through windows.
Police Chief Brian O'Hara said the locked doors 'likely saved countless lives', as the shooter had planned to carry out the attack from inside. Westman, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, had created a detailed diagram of the church's interior and prepared smoke canisters and wooden boards to barricade emergency exits, intending to trap victims.
The attack occurred just before 8.30am during a service marking the first week of school. The congregation included teachers, parents and children. As worshippers prepared to proclaim 'Alleluia', bullets shattered the windows. One student was shot in the back while shielding a friend, and a youth minister called her husband to say goodbye.
Two children aged eight and ten were killed, and 14 other children aged six to 15 were injured, two critically but expected to survive. Three adult parishioners in their 80s were also injured. O'Hara described the incident as 'a deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshipping', calling it 'absolutely incomprehensible'.
Investigators found that Westman had a 'deranged fascination' with mass shooters and expressed hatred toward 'almost every group imaginable' in writings left behind. The shooter attended school and mass at the church, and their mother worked there until 2021, but police have not identified a specific grievance.
Westman visited the church several weeks ago under the pretext of reconnecting with the Catholic faith, which led to the creation of the hand-drawn diagram. A scheduled YouTube video showed the planning, including the barricade plan. The Department of Homeland Security secretary, Kristi Noem, called Westman a 'deranged monster'.
