Minneapolis church shooter fueled by hatred, idolized mass killers: Police

The shooter who killed two Catholic school students and wounded more than a dozen others during Mass at a Minneapolis church once attended the same school and was reportedly “obsessed” with the idea of killing children, authorities said Thursday.

Identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, he fired 116 rounds from a rifle through stained-glass windows while students celebrated the first week of classes at Annunciation Catholic School, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said.

“It is very clear that this shooter had the intention to terrorize those innocent children,” O’Hara said.

Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson said videos and writings left by Westman revealed a disturbing hatred for nearly every group imaginable.

“The only group he did not hate was mass murderers,” Thompson said. “In short, the shooter appeared to hate all of us.”

Investigators recovered hundreds of pieces of evidence from the church and three residences, the police chief said. Authorities found additional writings from the suspect but no extra firearms or a clear motive for the attack on the church he once attended. Westman had a “deranged fascination” with mass killings, O’Hara said.

“No evidence will ever be able to make sense of such an unthinkable tragedy,” he added.

Surveillance video captured the attack and showed that the shooter never entered the church and could not see the children while firing through windows lined up with the pews, O’Hara said.

Family members described one of the victims, 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel, as a boy who loved his family, fishing, cooking, and sports.

We will never be allowed to hold him, talk to him, play with him and watch him grow into the wonderful young man he was on the path to becoming,” his father, Jesse, said tearfully outside the church Thursday.

The parents of the other victim, 10-year-old Harper Moyski, said she was a bright and joyful child.

“Our hearts are broken not only as parents, but also for Harper’s sister, who adored her big sister and is grieving an unimaginable loss,” said Michael Moyski and Jackie Flavin. “As a family, we are shattered, and words cannot capture the depth of our pain.”

They said they hope her memory helps drive leaders “to take meaningful steps to address gun violence and the mental health crisis in this country.”

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office said both children died of gunshot wounds.

City officials Thursday increased the number of injured children to 15, ages 6 to 15. Three parishioners in their 80s were also injured. Only one person – a child – remained in critical condition.

Westman, whose mother worked for the parish before retiring in 2021, left behind several videos and pages of writings describing a litany of grievances. One read: “I know this is wrong, but I can’t seem to stop myself.”

O’Hara said Westman was armed with a rifle, shotgun and pistol and died by suicide.

On a YouTube channel, videos police say may have been posted by the shooter show weapons and ammunition and list the names of past mass shooters. What appears to be a suicide note addressed to family contains a confession of long-held plans to carry out a shooting and mentions being deeply depressed.

Rev. Dennis Zehren, who was inside the church with nearly 200 children, said the responsorial psalm – which spoke of light in the darkness – had almost ended when he heard someone yell, “Down down, everybody down,” and gunshots rang out.

Fifth-grader Weston Halsne said he ducked behind the pews, covering his head, shielded by a friend who was hit during the attack.

“I was super scared for him, but I think now he’s OK,” the 10-year-old said.

FBI Director Kash Patel said on X that the attack was an act of domestic terrorism motivated by a hate-filled ideology, citing the shooter’s statements against multiple religions and calls for violence against President Donald Trump.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz Thursday sent state law enforcement officers to schools and churches in Minneapolis, saying no child should go to school worried about losing a classmate or hearing gunshots during prayer.

On a YouTube channel titled Robin W, the person filming the video points to two windows in what appears to be a drawing of the church, then stabs it with a long knife.

The now-deleted videos also show weapons and ammunition scrawled with “kill Donald Trump” and “Where is your God?” along with the names of past mass shooters.

There were also hundreds of pages written in Cyrillic, a centuries-old script still used in Slavic countries. In one, Westman wrote, “When will it end?”

Lily Kletter, who graduated from Annunciation, recalled that Westman joined her class at some point in middle school and once hid in the bathroom to avoid going to Mass.

“I remember they had a crazy distaste for school, especially Annunciation, which I always thought was interesting because their mom was on the parish board,” she said.

Investigators said there were no past arrests or other issues in Westman’s background that would have prevented the legal purchase of firearms.

In response to a request for police records over the past decade, the Eagan Police Department sent two documents, both heavily redacted.

One, from 2018, was listed as a mental health call and welfare check for a child with parents Mary Grace Westman and James Westman. The case was closed, and the narrative was mostly redacted.

A second report from 2016, involving a criminal complaint, was entirely redacted.

O’Hara said the first officer arrived at the church four minutes after the initial 911 call, and additional officers rendered first aid and rescued some children.

Annunciation Principal Matt DeBoer said teachers and students alike responded heroically.

“Children were ducked down. Adults were protecting children. Older children were protecting younger children,” he said.

Vincent Francoual said his 11-year-old daughter, Chloe, survived by running downstairs and hiding in a room with a table pushed against the door. He said she is struggling to communicate clearly about the traumatizing scene and thought she was going to die.

Tess Rada said her 8-year-old daughter has also said little about the shooting and does not fully recall what she witnessed. Loud noises and sirens have disturbed her since the attack, Rada said. One of the children killed was her daughter’s friend.

“It’s kind of impossible,” Rada said, “to wrap your head around how to tell an 8-year-old that her friend has been killed.”