The shooter who opened fire at a church on the south side of Minneapolis on Wednesday morning has been identified.
Law enforcement sources told the Associated Press that Robin Westman attacked the church, adjacent to Annunciation Catholic School, as school children were celebrating Mass at the start of the academic year. Westman once attended the school.
Authorities have confirmed that two children were killed and 17 others were injured, 14 of them children, two of whom are in critical condition.
Westman was initially described by authorities as “a man” in his early twenties, dressed all in black and armed with a rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol. However, court documents later revealed that in 2019, the shooter changed their name from Robert to Robin and that they identified as a woman.
No motive is known at this time, and Westman took their own life.
President Donald Trump has offered condolences to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
A distraught Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey rejected offers of “thoughts and prayers,” saying at a press conference: “You cannot put into words the gravity, tragedy or absolute pain of the situation.”
What you need to know…
- A shooting occurred at Annunciation Church and Catholic School in Minneapolis on Wednesday morning as schoolchildren were attending Mass to mark the start of the academic year.
- The assailant, Robin Westman, formerly Robert, whose name was legally changed after identifying as a woman, opened fire from outside the church, using a rifle, shotgun, and pistol, to fire through the stained-glass windows after barricading some of the doors.
- Two children, aged eight and ten, were killed in the attack, and 17 other individuals were injured, including 14 children, two of whom are in critical condition.
- Police Chief Brian O’Hara said that the motive for the deliberate act of violence against innocent children is not yet known. The FBI is investigating the attack as an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime against Catholics.
- President Donald Trump offered condolences to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and ordered flags to half-staff. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey expressed profound grief, rejecting offers of mere “thoughts and prayers.”
Oliver O’Connell27 August 2025 19:27
‘We lost two angels’, school principal says
The school’s principal, Matt DeBoer, mourned the loss of two students after the shooting, calling them “two angels”.
He praised teachers and students as heroes and urged the community to pray, support families, and take action to ensure such a tragedy never happens again.
“I love you, you’re so brave, and I’m so sorry this happened to us today,” he told the students.
“I beg you,” he said at a press conference. “I ask you to please pray, but don’t stop with your words. Let’s make a difference and support this community’s children, these families, these teachers. Never again can we let this happen.”
Maroosha Muzaffar28 August 2025 04:30
NYC buildings to fly at half-staff in solidarity with Minnesota, says Eric Adams
Eric Adams has announced that, in solidarity with the those affected by the tragedy in Minneapolis, flags on city buildings in New York City will be flown at half-staff.
“In mourning and recognition of the tragic school shooting in Minneapolis, all flags on city buildings and stationary flagstaffs throughout the five boroughs are being lowered to half-staff,” the mayor wrote on X.
“Our hearts and prayers are with all those impacted by this senseless violence.”
Mike Bedigan28 August 2025 04:15
Minnesota’s state flag proclamation, per Governor Tim Walz
Flags across Minnesota will be flown at half-staff, Governor Tim Walz has said in an official state proclamation.
Here’s a copy of the full statement:
Mike Bedigan28 August 2025 04:00
In pictures: Minnesota Governor Tim Walz meets Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey
Mike Bedigan28 August 2025 03:45
AOC calls on Congress to ‘act to keep kids safe’
Mike Bedigan28 August 2025 03:30
Ilhan Omar hopes leaders will ‘love our children more than they love their guns’
Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar also called for leaders to enact changes to “free” America from “the violence of guns in our country.”
“The kids were praying when they were assassinated,” she said, speaking at a vigil Wednesday night. “So what does that tell us?”
“That tells us that there is something fundamentally broken in our society…. How can we call ourselves ‘Great’ as a nation if we cannot protect the most precious which is our children – our future.
“So it is up to us to make sure this tragedy does not visit any other community in this country ever, and we do that by reminding reminding folks that you can change whatever laws that you want in Minneapolis, you can change whatever the laws that you want in Minnesota.
“But if we do not change the laws of these United States of America, none of our kids are going to be safe.”
The congresswoman added: “I hope that commitment is to be shared by the other leaders in our nation, a commitment that they are going to love our children more than they love their guns.
“That it is important that we are free from the violence of guns in this country, and that we are free to see our children become adults and raise their children – because we owe it to them.”
Mike Bedigan28 August 2025 03:21
Former president Joe Biden: ‘No parent should ever have to bury their child’
Former president Joe Biden has lamented that “no parent should ever have to bury their child,” as he responded to news of the tragedy in Minneapolis.
“Jill and I are heartbroken and there are simply no words to adequately mark such a horrific and painful moment,” he wrote on X. “With all our hearts, we are praying for the victims, their families, and the community of Minneapolis.”
Biden himself has personally experienced the devastating loss of two children, having lost his firstborn daughter Naomi Christina Biden, in a car crash in December 1972 when she was just 13 months old.
His eldest son Beau Biden, also passed away in May 2015 from brain cancer at the age of 46.
Mike Bedigan28 August 2025 03:15
Klobuchar: ‘Sixth graders should not have to protect first graders. We should be doing that’
Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar made another impassioned plea for change as she spoke at a vigil for the Annunciation Church and Catholic School victims Wednesday night.
“My prayer tonight is this is the vigil that makes a difference, that the stories of these families that I talked to tonight, when they get through their grief enough to tell them… when people hear the stories of the older kids literally laying on top of the little kids and the teachers heroic actions and the members of the church, they should not have to do this.
“Sixth graders should not have to protect first graders. We should be doing that.”
Mike Bedigan28 August 2025 03:07
Amy Klobuchar says former staffer’s daughter present during shooting
Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar says that her former staffer’s daughter had been present during Wednesday’s horrific shooting, and seen two of her friends get shot.
Speaking to CNN, Klobuchar revealed that the youngster had seen her friends be struck, one in the neck and the other in the stomach.
The senator said the girl was at the Annunciation Catholic Church with her siblings when the shooting took place.
“The kids were crawling under the pews and then she ran out,” Klobuchar told CNN. “She was the one that told the dad of one of the kids that his child had been shot.”
Older kids had shown incredible bravery by protecting younger children, the Senator added.
Klobuchar said the Wednesday’s tragedy also demonstrated the need for change.
“These kids praying in a church, packed into the pews, joyful about their first week in school, their new teacher, and then getting shot through church windows. If that isn’t enough to move people that we have to make some changes in this country, I don’t know what is,” she said.
Mike Bedigan28 August 2025 03:00
