Compiled from wire reports
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A deadly mass shooting took place the morning of Aug. 27 at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis shortly after the start of the school day during an all-school Mass at the adjacent Annunciation Catholic Church.
The gunman shot from the outside of the church through windows at the Mass attendees with a semi-automatic rifle, shotgun and pistol, killing two children, ages 8 and 10. According to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, 18 others are injured, including 15 children. Three adults who were shot were parishioners in their 80s.
While there were “a range of injuries” among the injured children, they are all expected to survive.
In an Aug. 28 interview on the Today Show, O’Hara said the church doors were locked for the school Mass, a move that “likely saved countless lives.”
The suspected shooter is 23-year-old Robin Westman, who formerly went by Robert, and had previously attended the school. Westman’s mother had formerly been an employee of Annunciation.
O’Hara said the shooter did not have an extensive known criminal history and acted alone.
Westman is also dead and believed to have taken his own life in the parking lot. Local police say there is no longer an active threat.
“This deliberate act of violence is a sign of cruelty that is beyond comprehension,” O’Hara said.
Our hearts our broken for everyone that has been affected by this tragedy.”
Westman’s plans appear to have been to barricade all but one of the church’s exterior doors to trap Massgoers and enter the church to carry out mass slaughter. O’Hara said Westman ended up shooting through the windows only because he found the church’s doors already locked.
Aug. 27 was the third day of the school year for the Catholic elementary school, which serves students in preschool to grade eight. Students were attending an all-school Mass that began at 8:15 a.m. Westman began firing on the students just after the responsorial psalm as they were about to sing the Gospel “Allelulia.” Authorities were alerted at 8:27 a.m.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey joined O’Hara in speaking to media on the scene. Dr. Thomas Wyatt, chair of emergency medicine at Hennepin County Medical Center, a Level 1 trauma center in downtown Minneapolis, also provided reporters an update on victims’ status. He said 11 patients were taken to HCMC, among them two adults and nine children ages 6-14. Three adults who were shot were parishioners in their 80s.
Children’s Minnesota, a pediatric trauma hospital, said it admitted seven children ages 9 through 16.
Archbishop Bernard Hebda, of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, issued a statement on the tragedy Wednesday afternoon, expressing gratitude 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” for Annunciation Parish and School “and for all who were impacted by this morning’s senseless violence.”
The archbishop begged for continued prayers, “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.”
The archbishop also prayed for “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 continued.
“We need an end to gun violence. Our community is rightfully outraged at such horrific acts of violence perpetrated against the vulnerable and innocent,” he continued. “They are far too commonplace. While we need to commit to working to prevent the recurrence of such tragedies, we also need to remind ourselves that we have a God of peace and of love, and that it is his love that we will need most as we strive to embrace those who are hurting so deeply.”
The archbishop also invited the public to a prayer service later that night, at the Academy of the Holy Angels in Richfield, Minnesota.
“Don’t just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now. These kids were literally praying,” Frey said.
Father Erich Rutten, pastor of nearby St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, arrived on scene this morning to pray with and comfort distraught and grieving parents at the school.
The priest told NBC News that parents were in “great, great anxiety and grief,” with some “wailing and crying, some stooping to the ground.”
He told the news outlet that he hugged those he recognized; several of them joined in as he prayed the rosary.
On its website, the archdiocese posted, “Please pray for all those affected by the shooting today at Annunciation in Minneapolis. Updates to come from The Catholic Spirit.”
Bishop Kevin T. Kenney, auxiliary bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis who grew up attending Annunciation Parish, told a local news station that “it’s just unbelievable that this could happen, still today.”
It’s “very sad for the community, for the families, and very sad for the families who have lost loved ones,” said Bishop Kenney, speaking at HCMC.
“It’s a horrible, horrific way for all the students to begin the school year. Safety procedures were put in place, people come excited to go back to school, very excited about an academic year, feeling safe in south Minneapolis, and now look what happened,” he said.
“When I heard about the shooting this morning, I’m right down the street … I decided I better come over and just support the families and be here with them,” he said. “I have talked to a few (families) whose children are in surgery or being cared for. Just panicking, of course they’re in shock and worried, asking ‘why,’ so I’m just here to comfort … and to just walk with them in these hours ahead.”
Annunciation’s former interim pastor Father Robert Hart, 77, told NBC News that the shooting was “unbelievable.”
“It’s hard to believe that this could happen at a Catholic Mass,” he said. The priest described Annunciation as a “very close-knit and very supportive” community.
In response to the shooting, Archbishop William E. Lori, vice-president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement, writing that “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.”
President Donald Trump said on the X social media platform that he has “been fully briefed” on the shooting.
“The FBI quickly responded and they are on the scene,” he said. “The White House will continue to monitor this terrible situation. Please join me in praying for everyone involved!”
The White House said in a post on X that Trump signed a proclamation Wednesday afternoon ordering flags to be lowered at all government buildings until sunset on Sunday “as a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence.”
Also on X, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said that he has been “briefed on a shooting at Annunciation Catholic School and will continue to provide updates as we get more information. The BCA and State Patrol are on scene. I’m praying for our kids and teachers whose first week of school was marred by this horrific act of violence.”
Kristi Noem, secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said on X that “DHS is monitoring the horrific shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis. We are in communication with our interagency partners, and will share more information as soon as it becomes available. I am praying for the victims of this heinous attack and their families.”
Bishops and Catholic leaders across the country have issued their condolences and offered prayers in solidarity with the church in Minnesota.
“As a Church, we are following the tragic news from Annunciation School in Minneapolis with heartbreaking sadness,” said Archbishop William E. Lori, vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in a statement. “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.”
Expressing that he was “profoundly saddened” at the shooting, Pope Leo XIV sent his “heartfelt condolences and the assurance of spiritual closeness” to all those affected by the “terrible tragedy”
The pope’s condolences went particularly to “the families now grieving the loss of a child,” said a telegram to Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis signed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state.
The papal message to Archbishop Hebda said that “while commending the souls of the deceased children to the love of Almighty God, His Holiness prays for the wounded as well as the first responders, medical personnel and clergy who are caring for them and their loved ones.”
“At this extremely difficult time, the Holy Father imparts to the Annunciation Catholic School community, the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis and the people of the greater Twin Cities metropolitan area his apostolic blessing as a pledge of peace, fortitude and consolation in the Lord Jesus,” it said.
Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, asked for prayers on X.
“Friends, this morning there was a shooting at Annunciation Catholic Parish in Minneapolis. Please join me in praying for all those who were injured or lost their lives — along with their families,” he wrote. “Let us also pray for the students, faculty, and entire parish community,” he wrote.”
Bishop Patrick M. Neary of St. Cloud, Minnesota, also expressed his grief over the shooting.
“Today, our hearts are shattered by the horrific act of violence that occurred at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis. Children were gathered for Mass. Teachers were beginning a new school year. Families were entrusting their loved ones to the care of the Church,” he said in a statement.
“I grieve deeply with the families, students, staff and parishioners of Annunciation. I grieve with our neighbors in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. And I grieve with every person who now carries the trauma of this senseless violence.
“As Catholics, we believe in the dignity of every human life. That dignity is destroyed when violence becomes routine,” he continued. “May Christ, the Prince of Peace, bring healing to all who are wounded, and may Our Lady of Sorrows intercede for us in this time of grief.”
Maria Wiering is senior writer for OSV News.
The Associated Press and Catholic News Agency are contributing to this report
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