Minneapolis shooting: Deranged shooter killed children 'where they sat' in pews

A deranged gunman armed with a rifle, shotgun and pistol stormed a Minneapolis church packed with children, killing two youngsters and wounding 17 others before turning the gun on himself.

The bloodbath unfolded inside Annunciation Catholic Church and School just after 8.30am local time yesterday, as pupils and parents gathered for a special mass marking the first week of term. Police said the attacker, dressed head-to-toe in black, sprayed dozens of rounds from a rifle, shotgun and pistol into a congregation of children and worshippers.

“Two young children, aged eight and 10, were killed where they sat in the pews,” Police Chief Brian O’Hara confirmed. Another 17 were injured, 14 of them children. Two youngsters were tonight fighting for life in critical condition.

READ MORE: Minneapolis shooting UPDATES: School children, 8 and 10, dead as gunman opens fire

READ MORE: Minneapolis school shooter who killed children, 8 and 10, as they prayed pictured

The suspect, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, was later identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman. Local station KARE 11 claimed that his mother was employed at the school.

Chief O’Hara branded the attack “sheer cruelty and cowardice”, adding: “During the mass, a gunman approached from the outside of the building. He struck children and worshippers that were inside the building.”

He said the suspect had no serious criminal history and appeared to have acted alone. “Our hearts are broken for the families who have lost their children, for the young lives fighting to recover and for the entire community that has been so deeply traumatised by this senseless attack.”

The shooter's car was later found in the church car park, where police recovered a smoke bomb, described by officers as “a firework-type device that would generate smoke, not an explosive”.

Investigators are now examining a chilling digital trail left behind before the massacre. A YouTube account, since deleted, and believed to have belonged to Westman, contained a 20-minute manifesto uploaded just hours before the attack.

According to US reports, police are scrutinising the footage, which showed a drawing of the school’s church before depicting a man stabbing the illustration repeatedly while muttering: “I’m going to kill myself.”

One video believed to have been posted by the shooter showed the phrases “kill Donald Trump ” and “for the children” scrawled across gun magazines. Other clips uploaded to the same channel revealed images of a semi-automatic rifle and a shotgun.

Police confirmed the gunman had parked his vehicle close to the school and said it is being investigated as part of the inquiry.

Residents described the sound of relentless gunfire echoing through the streets. Bill Bienemann, who lives two blocks from the church, said: “I know what gunfire sounds like and I was shocked, I said there’s no way that could be gunfire, there was so much of it.

“It seemed like a rifle, it certainly didn’t sound like a handgun, so he must have reloaded several times. Three to four minutes is a long time for live gunfire, you can rap off a lot of shots.” He estimated between 30 and 50 shots rang out.

A friend of his knew someone inside who managed to escape. “He said it seemed like it went on for an eternity, but when it stopped, he just ran out of the building.” As police secured the scene, local hospitals scrambled to cope with the wave of victims.

Children’s Minnesota, a specialist trauma hospital, confirmed six children were among those rushed in for emergency care. Others were taken to Hennepin Healthcare, the state’s largest emergency department.

Doctors said they were dealing with multiple gunshot wounds, many to young children caught in the pews as the service turned into a war zone. Mayor Jacob Frey said the city was reeling from the atrocity.

“There are no words that can capture the horror,” he said. “These were Minneapolis families. These were American families, and the amount of pain they are suffering right now is extraordinary.” He tore into politicians who offer words in the aftermath of mass shootings.

“Don’t just say this is about ‘thoughts and prayers’ right now. These kids were literally praying,” he said. “It was the first week of school, they were in a church.”

Police said the suspect came armed with three weapons - a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol - and appeared to use them all during the attack. The number of rounds fired was described as “in the dozens”.

While most of the shooting was carried out from outside, officers said the attacker may have briefly entered the church. Ballistic teams were continuing to recover shell casings.

Chief O’Hara said the gunman approached the side of the church where there were at least two doors, suggesting he may have chosen the location deliberately. The killings have left families across Minneapolis reeling.

Parents who had waved off their children for the first week of school were last night clutching photographs and waiting anxiously for updates from hospitals. Outside Annunciation, worshippers lit candles and clutched rosaries as priests prayed for the victims.

Schoolbags, tiny shoes and hymn books lay abandoned in the pews where bullets tore through the congregation.
“This has shaken our city to its core,” Chief O’Hara said. “Shooting into a church full of children is an act of cowardice we can barely comprehend.”

The massacre is one of the worst school shootings in Minnesota’s history, once again exposing America’s deep-rooted gun violence epidemic. In 2025 alone, there have been more than 340 mass shootings - defined as a single outburst of violence in which four or more people are shot - across the States.

Campaigners say little has been done to address easy access to high-powered firearms.