The FBI has opened a hate crime and domestic terrorism investigation into Wednesday’s school shooting at Annunciation Church and School in Minneapolis, where two children were killed and 17 others injured.
FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed that the attack is being investigated as an act of anti-Catholic violence.
The shooting began just before 8 a.m. local time as children gathered inside the church for Mass marking the start of the school year. Authorities say the gunman, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, opened fire from outside the building using a rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol. Police also recovered a smoke bomb at the scene.
Westman died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound before officers arrived.
Among the victims were two students, ages eight and ten. Witnesses described chaos and terror as children fled through shattered glass. One boy told CBS affiliate WCCO that his friend shielded him from the bullets: “Victor saved me because he laid on top of me, but he got hit,” the child said.
According to BBC, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara called the attack “a deliberate act of violence against innocent children and people worshipping,” describing it as an act of “sheer cruelty and cowardice.”
Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope, said he was “profoundly saddened” by the killings.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said President Donald Trump had offered condolences and federal assistance, while later announcing that flags at the White House would be flown at half-staff.
