On Wednesday morning in Minneapolis, two children were killed in the pews during a mass shooting at an all-school Mass for Annunciation Catholic School at the parish church. In addition, 18 people (15 children and three elderly adults) were injured by a lone shooter in his 20s.

The FBI is investigating the shooting as domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics. The FBI identified the shooter as 23-year-old Robin Westman, a male born as Robert Westman.

In a press conference Thursday, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara gave additional updates, including that an additional child was injured, increasing the injured tally from 17 to 18, and that the gunman attended the school and his mother had worked there. The chief also noted that one weapon jammed, saving lives. In addition, the police indicated that locked doors in the church interior also saved the lives of the students, staff and parishioners.

Other Thursday updates: Details of the manifesto posted by the shooter revealed his hatred of various religious and ethnic groups.

Fundraiser set up for attack victim in critical condition

An online fundraiser has been set up for one of the students shot in Wednesday’s attack, 12-year-old Sophia Forchas, who had just started seventh grade at Annunciation Catholic School. She is currently in critical condition and in the ICU at a local hospital.

According to the GoFundMe page:

“She has already undergone emergency surgery, and her medical team is doing everything they can to stabilize her. Her road ahead will be long, uncertain, and incredibly difficult — but she is strong, and she is not alone.

“Adding to the heartbreak, her younger brother was also inside the school during the shooting. Though he was physically unharmed, the trauma of witnessing such a terrifying event — and knowing his sister was critically injured — is something no child should ever experience.

“Furthermore, her mother, a pediatric critical care nurse, arrived at work to help during the tragedy, before knowing it was her children’s school that was attacked and that her daughter was critically injured.”

Franciscan University claps back at Jen Psaki’s anti-prayer rhetoric

Several public figures commented on the tragedy, saying that “thoughts and prayers” are not enough when addressing this situation. 

One of these public figures included former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.

In a viral X post, Psaki attacked those assuring the Minnesota Catholic school of their prayers for the shooting victims and all those involved.

Thousands of users responded, blasting Paski for her anti-prayer rhetoric.

The Franciscan University of Steubenville provided a powerful response, explaining that prayer is the “very place we meet Christ, who himself was unjustly slain.”

ChurchPop has the full story here.

Annunciation Catholic School releases statement

The Minneapolis school leaders say the school will remain closed for the time being as the community continues to deal with the “unfathomable” deadly incident.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday evening, Annunciation Catholic School Principal Matthew DeBoer and parish pastor Father Dennis Zehren described the crisis as an “impossible situation.”

“No words can capture what we have gone through, what we are going through, and what we will go through in the coming days and weeks,” they wrote. “But we will navigate this — together.”

Fifth grader says friend ‘laid on top of me’ to save his life during shooting

Weston Halsne, a fifth-grader at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, told reporters that his friend saved his life when a shooter opened fire during Mass on Wednesday.

Read more from ChurchPop.

From Wednesday

Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis Archbishop Bernard Hebda said at a late-afternoon press conference on Aug. 27: “We have to be men and women of hope.”

(A bell began to ring as he spoke.) “A bell in the Catholic Church is always a call to prayer. It’s a reminder for us to be praying. And we have to recognize that it’s through prayer … that we can indeed make a difference. That has to be the source of our hope.”

During a press conference around noon local time, Police Chief O’Hara described the incident at Annunciation Catholic Church, 6 miles south of downtown Minneapolis in an affluent, family-friendly neighborhood, as an “unthinkable tragedy.”

The shooting took place during the opening Mass of the parish’s parochial school, O’Hara said.

“During the Mass, a gunman approached the building on the outside and began firing a rifle [and] shooting through the windows,” the chief said. “He struck children and worshippers that were inside the building.”

The shooter was armed with a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol, O’Hara said. He reportedly fired all three of the weapons during the incident.

The suspected gunman took his own life after the shooting, the police chief said.

“This deliberate act of violence is a sign of cruelty that is beyond comprehension,” O’Hara said. “Our hearts are broken for everyone that has been affected by this tragedy.”

He continued: “Two young children, ages 8 and 10, were killed where they sat in the pews. Their parents have been notified.”

Also at the midday press conference, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said there were “no words that can capture the horror and the evilness of this unspeakable act.”

“You cannot put into words the gravity, tragedy or absolute pain of this situation,” Frey said, pointing out that the victims of the shooting were “literally praying” when they were attacked.

He added: “I’m so deeply saddened and I’m so sorry to the families that I know are suffering right now.”

National, Church Leaders and Pope Offer Prayers and Support

O’Hara at the noon press conference said the suspect was a lone shooter in his 20s.

“He does not have a known criminal history,” the chief said. “We are looking through information left behind to try and determine some type of motive.”

The shooting generated headlines around the world and led to an outpouring of support from civic and religious leaders, including the Holy Father.

Pope Leo expressed his closeness and prayers in a telegram:

Archbishop Hebda said in his statement, “I am so grateful for the many promises of prayers that have been coming in from the Holy Father, Pope Leo, and from so many from all around the globe, all praying for the families of Annunciation Parish and School and for all who were impacted by this morning’s senseless violence.”

“I beg for the continued prayers of all of the priests and faithful of this Archdiocese, as well for the prayers of all men and women of good will, that the healing that only God can bring will be poured out on all those who were present at this morning’s Mass and particularly for the affected families who are only now beginning to comprehend the trauma they sustained,” he continued. “We lift up the souls of those who lost their lives to our loving God through the intercession of Our Lady, Queen of Peace.” 

“My heart is broken as I think about students, teachers, clergy and parishioners and the horror they witnessed in a Church, a place where we should feel safe.”  

He invited the community to a prayer service this evening.

Baltimore Archbishop William Lori, on behalf of the U.S. bishops’ conference, said, “Whenever one part of the Body of Christ is wounded, we feel the pain as if it were our very own children.”

President Donald Trump on Wednesday morning said the White House was monitoring the situation. “Please join me in praying for everyone involved!” he wrote. The president ordered the White House flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of the victims.

Vice President JD Vance similarly offered prayers after the shooting.

So did Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

“I am heartbroken by the horrific violence [at the school],” Klobuchar wrote on X. “My prayers are with the students, teachers, and families, and I am grateful for the first responders who are on the scene.”

Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, and local priest Father Paul Hedman also responded with prayerful support:

Father Hedman also announced the prayer service for this evening.

Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquila also called for prayers for the victims. “We entrust the school and parish community to the maternal intercession of Our Lady of Sorrows, who stood faithfully by the cross of her Son and knows the anguish of grieving hearts,” he said in a statement.

The New York State Catholic Conference, meanwhile, wrote that the state’s bishops were “devastated” by the shooting.

“We join the bishops of [Minnesota] and all Americans in praying for all who are impacted and for an end to gun violence,” the conference wrote.

The tragedy comes just one day after another shooting outside of Minneapolis’ Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, located just a few miles from the Annunciation parish. Authorities on Wednesday did not indicate that the two shootings were related.

Annunciation School, which serves prekindergarten through eighth grade, was founded in 1923, a year after the parish of the same name began serving the Windom neighborhood.

The school has 369 students and an average class size of 18 students, according to Private School Review, a website that tracks schools. (The school’s website was down as of late morning Wednesday.)

The school is at 525 West 54th Street, just west of Annunciation Church, which is at 509 West 54th Street. Father Dennis Zehren is the pastor.

At the late afternoon press conference, Principal Matt DeBoer said that staff and teachers were heroes during the shooting. 

“This is a nightmare,” he said.

“Please continue to pray for those still receiving care. We can’t change the past. But we can do something about the future.” 

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Wednesday confirmed the shooting, saying he had been briefed on the incident.

Auxiliary Bishop Kevin Kenney spoke to KSTP 5: 

“Horrific. Unbelievable that this could happen. It’s very sad for the community. It’s very sad for the families that have lost loved ones.I’ve talked to a few [parents] whose children are in surgery. They’re panicking, of course. They’re in shock. They’re worried. It was the opening school Mass, is my understanding. It’s a horrible, horrific way for all the students to begin the school year.”

The Department of Homeland Security, led by Secretary Kristi Noem, is monitoring the horrific situation, as well.

Noem also wrote on X, “Our deepest prayers are with the children, parents, families, educators, and Christians everywhere. We mourn with them, we pray for healing, and we will never forget them.”

An Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis prayer request was also posted on Facebook.

Well-known Catholic author and speaker Jeff Cavins lives in Minneapolis. He attended the school, he told EWTN News, and related his prayerful condolences.

Mass shooting events at Catholic churches in the U.S. are exceedingly rare. Notably, on June 10, 2002, a 71-year-old gunman entered Conception Abbey in rural Conception, Missouri, and opened fire, killing three monks before taking his own life. The motive for that shooting remains unclear. 

Most recently, in May 2024, parishioners and local police averted a tragedy at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Abbeville, Louisiana, when an armed man attempted to enter the sanctuary where 60 children were preparing for their first Communion. Parishioners subdued the 16-year-old suspect, who was charged with terrorism and two counts of possession of a firearm by a juvenile. 

Looking back further, in a November 1971 incident at St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Spokane, Washington, a 21-year-old man armed with a sledgehammer and a rifle murdered a church caretaker, wounded four other people and desecrated the sanctuary before police shot and killed him.

In 1985, a man opened fire during a Mass at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Onalaska, Wisconsin, killing the priest and two other people. In 2002, a man with a rifle opened fire at Our Lady of Peace Church in suburban Los Angeles, killing the priest and a 73-year-old parishioner. 

More recently, in 2019, a domestic dispute that played out in the parking lot of Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church in Cypress, Texas, resulted in a man killing his estranged wife and injuring his daughter. 

 

This is a developing story. Further details will continue to be added by CNA and Register staff. The Register joins in prayer for the parish and school community and for all the victims and their families, as well as the city. Last update: 5:20 p.m. ET, Aug. 28.