2 schoolchildren killed when gunman opens fire at Catholic church in Minneapolis

Two children were killed and 17 were wounded Wednesday morning when a gunman opened fire with a rifle through the windows of a Catholic church in Minneapolis and struck a group of students celebrating Mass.

The Associated Press reports that the shooter, armed with a rifle, shotgun and pistol, shot at children from Annunciation Catholic School sitting in the pews during Mass at the parish church.

The children who died were 8 and 10. Fourteen other children and three adults were injured, authorities say.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Wednesday afternoon that two of the 14 injured children were in critical condition. the injured children are between the ages of 6 and 15. Two of the injured adults were in their 80s.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the shooting suspect has died by suicide. He was as robin Westman, 23, and had no prior criminal history. Authorities believe he acted alone. The Star Tribune reports that a 2017 Annunciation yearbook showed that Robin Westman, who went by Robert at the time, attended the school for at least one year.

“This was a deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshipping," O'Hara said. "The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible."

Annunciation Catholic School had 391 students in pre-K to eighth grade in 2023-24, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. 

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Vatican News: Pope Leo XIV has expressed his profound sorrow upon learning of the loss of life and injuries at Annunciation Church.

In a telegram sent to Archbishop Bernard Hebda of Minneapolis, the Pope expressed his "heartfelt condolences and the assurance of spiritual closeness to all those affected by this terrible tragedy, especially the families now grieving the loss of a child."

Statement from Archbishop William E. Lori, vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops:

“As a Church, we are following the tragic news from Annunciation School in Minneapolis with heartbreaking sadness. Whenever one part of the Body of Christ is wounded, we feel the pain as if it were our very own children. Let us all beg the Lord for the protection and healing of the entire Annunciation family.”