After shots were fired on Wednesday at a Catholic church in Minneapolis where schoolchildren were praying, killing an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old, more information is being released regarding the shooter and potential motives.
The tragic event that took two lives and injured 17 others occurred while children, school faculty and church workers were participating in a Mass to mark the first week of school.
The shooter was identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, a transgender person who was born Robert Westman, FBI Director Kash Patel said in a post on social media. Westman was apparently armed with a rifle, shotgun and pistol and opened fire through the church’s stained-glass windows.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara told NBC’s “Today” show on Thursday morning that their investigation has led them to believe Westman had previously attended the Annunciation Catholic School, the school the children attended, which is next door to the church.
“After the Mass had begun, the doors to the church were locked, so this coward had to fire from outside of the church through the church windows and into the church,” O’Hara said. “And we believe (the shooter) not being able to get into the church likely saved countless lives.”
He also mentioned that the shooter’s mother had previously worked for the parish, and that the FBI was currently investigating a motive — including an alleged manifesto the shooter left behind — but no specific motive has been identified.
The four-page manifesto that allegedly belonged to Westman includes writings like “I don’t expect forgiveness … I do apologize for the effects my actions will have on your lives" and “I was corrupted by this world and have learned to hate what life is,” per Minnesota’s KSTP-TV.
“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,” the letter continued. “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.”
It concludes with Westman asking for prayers for the victims and their families.
“Everything that we’ve seen so far is really a classic pathway to an active shooter,” O’Hara told Today. “We’ve seen a whole lot of hate against a whole variety of people in what we have seen so far, but nothing specific to point to as the motive for targeting this church and this particular incident.”
In an interview with NBC News, fifth grade student Weston Halsne recounted his experience and how his friend Victor saved his life.
“I was like two seats away from the stained glass windows,” he said, “so the shots were like right next to me.”
It wasn’t until he heard the second shot that he realized what was happening and threw himself under the pew. He told the outlet that his school practices what to do in case a shooting occurs, but they had never done it in the church.
“My friend Victor, like, saved me though, because he laid on top of me, but he got hit.”
Out of the 17 injured, including 14 children and three adults, all are expected to recover fully.
The shooter died on the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.