Two young children were killed and 17 others were injured in a shooting during a Catholic Mass packed with young students in south Minneapolis Wednesday morning. The shooter is also dead. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the shooting triggered a massive law enforcement response to Annunciation Catholic Church at West 54th Street between Harriet and Garfield avenues around 8:30 a.m. The church is connected to a school building. The shooter approached from the outside of the building and fired a rifle through the church windows towards children and worshippers. The shooter also used a shotgun and a pistol that they had legally purchased “recently,” O’Hara said. An 8-year-old and a 10-year-old were killed while they sat in the pews. Of the 17 others injured, 14 are children between the ages of 6 and 15. The three adults were parishoners in their 80s. At least seven victims were in critical condition when they arrived at a nearby hospital. O’Hara said Wednesday afternoon that everyone who was injured is expected to survive. (…) O’Hara said the shooter has no extensive criminal history and ultimately died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the back of the church. When asked if authorities are investigating the shooting as a hate crime, O’Hara clarified that officials are not yet aware of any specific motive.
via cbsnews: CRIME Minneapolis Catholic school shooting leaves 2 children dead, 17 people injured
siehe auch: UPDATE: Sources ID shooter who killed 2 children, hurt 17 others in shooting at Minneapolis church; FBI investigating as hate crime. A shooter opened fire on a morning mass at a Minneapolis church on Wednesday. Two children were killed and 17 people were injured. Sources have confirmed to KSTP that the shooter at Annunciation Church is 23-year-old Robin Westman. Here’s what else 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has learned so far: A total of 19 people were wounded in the shooting — all but three being kids. Two children, ages 8 and 10, have died, according to Minneapolis police, and two other children are in critical condition. The shooter was dressed in all black and armed with a rifle when she fired at Annunciation Catholic Church just before 8:30 a.m. Minneapolis police say she had a rifle, shotgun and pistol, which she used to fire from the outside of the church through windows. Police say the shooter is dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. She was in his early 20s and didn’t have an extensive criminal history; Robin Westman posted a manifesto on YouTube prior to Annunciation Church shooting. Annunciation shooting manifesto As we learn more about Robin Westman, the person suspected of carrying out a mass shooting at Annunciation Church on Wednesday morning, 5 INVESTIGATES is digging into their past. Westman identified as a woman, and court documents show she changed her name to Robin from Robert in 2020. (…) Investigative reporter Ryan Raiche found videos on a YouTube page believed to belong to Westman. The page has since been taken down, but the videos seem to have been posted on Wednesday morning. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said investigators believe Westman did post the videos. The disturbing videos showed Westman’s arsenal of guns, ammunition and what appears to be a handwritten four-page manifesto addressed to Westman’s family and friends. The letter begins, “I don’t expect forgiveness … I do apologize for the effects my actions will have on your lives.” “I was corrupted by this world and have learned to hate what life is,” the writing continues. The end of the second page reads, “I have wanted this for so long. I am not well. I am not right. I am a sad person, haunted by these thoughts that do not go away. I know this is wrong, but I can’t seem to stop myself. I am severely depressed and have been suicidal for years. Only recently have I lost all hope and decided to perform my final action against this world.” The manifesto concludes by asking for prayers for the victims and their families. (…) The person on the video flashed a white supremacy sign, said racial slurs and showed a shirt with a patch of the old Minnesota flag and the phrase, “Do it before the anxiety kicks in.” The 10 or so names written on Westman’s arsenal alluded to those responsible for the massacres at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, and the mosque shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand, among others. Also written on the weaponry were references to the Holocaust and calls for Israel to “fall” and “burn.”