Shooting at Minneapolis Catholic School Kills 2 Children, Injures 17 People
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - A shooter opened fire with a rifle through the windows of a Catholic church in Minneapolis and struck some of the nearly 200 children celebrating Mass during the first week of school on Wednesday, killing two and wounding 17 people.
Armed with a rifle, shotgun and pistol, 23-year-old Robin Westman approached the side of the church and shot dozens of rounds through the windows toward the children sitting in the pews during Mass at the Annunciation Catholic School just before 8:30 am, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said at news conferences. He said the shooter then died by suicide.
The children who died were 8 and 10. Fourteen other kids and three octogenarian parishioners were wounded but expected to survive, the chief said.
FBI Director Kash Patel said on X that the shooting is being investigated as an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics.
On a YouTube channel titled Robin W, the alleged shooter released at least two videos before the channel was taken down by site administrators Wednesday.
In one, the alleged shooter shows a cache of weapons and ammunition, some with such phrases as “kill Donald Trump” and “Where is your God?” written on them.
A second video shows the alleged shooter pointing to two outside windows in what appears to be a drawing of the church, and then stabbing it with a long knife. It was unclear when that video was uploaded to the channel.
Alongside many major US cities, violent crime in Minneapolis has decreased since the COVID-19 pandemic, based on data from AH Datalytics and its Real-Time Crime Index, which tracks crimes across the country using law enforcement data.
