RICHFIELD, Minn. (AP) — Investigators were examining the videos, writings and movements of the shooter who fired through the windows of a Catholic church in Minneapolis, killing two children and wounding 17 people, for connections to the church and its school to understand the motivation for the attack.
Armed with a rifle, shotgun and pistol, 23-year-old Robin Westman shot dozens of rounds Wednesday morning toward the children sitting in the pews during Mass at the Annunciation Catholic School, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said. The shooter then died by suicide, he said.
The children who died were 8 and 10. Fourteen other kids and three octogenarian parishioners were wounded but expected to survive, the chief said.
Mourners at vigil honor those killed and wounded
Just hours after the shooting, hundreds crowded inside a nearby school’s gym Wednesday night, clutching one another and wiping away tears during a vigil alongside Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and clergy members.
