The city of Minneapolis is reeling after a devastating mass shooting at Annunciation Roman Catholic Church and School on August 27, 2025—a tragedy that left two children dead, at least 17 others wounded, and a community searching for answers. The gunman, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the church parking lot shortly after the attack, according to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara (as reported by multiple outlets including The New York Post and TNND).
The shooting took place during a morning mass marking the first week of the school year. According to police, Westman approached the side of the church and fired dozens of rounds through the windows, targeting children and adults gathered in the pews. Chief O'Hara described the attack as a “deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshipping,” adding, “The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible.”
Authorities confirmed that two children, aged 8 and 10, were killed while sitting in the church. Fourteen of the wounded were children, with two listed in critical condition but expected to survive. The rapid response from first responders and hospital staff, including Children's Minnesota and Hennepin Healthcare, was credited with saving lives. Children's Minnesota reported that five children were admitted for care following the shooting.
Westman, who had no known criminal history, was armed with a rifle, shotgun, and pistol—all purchased legally. Additional firearms were recovered from locations connected to him, police said. The suspect left behind a disturbing manifesto and a 20-minute video, which was scheduled for release on YouTube before being deleted with FBI assistance. The FBI, led by Director Kash Patel, is investigating the attack as an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics.
The manifesto and video, as described by The New York Post, revealed a deeply troubled individual obsessed with violence, mass shooters, and hateful ideologies. Westman wrote in a journal—using the Cyrillic alphabet—slogans such as “Free Palestine” and filled its pages with antisemitic slurs and hateful messages against Jews, including “6 million wasn’t enough,” a reference to Holocaust victims. He scrawled messages like “For the Children,” “Where is your God?” and “Kill Donald Trump” on his rifle magazines and guns. One of his weapons bore the phrase “Israel must fall, release the files,” and a smoke canister was labeled with an antisemitic slur.
In his writings, Westman expressed intentions of carrying out a racially motivated attack, mused about assassinating political figures such as President Trump and Elon Musk, but ultimately decided that targeting “children of innocent civilians” would bring him “the most joy.” One translated entry read, “I don’t want to [do] it to spread a message. I do it to please myself. I do it because I am sick.” He also wrote about his own deteriorating health, claiming, “I think I am dying of cancer. It's a tragic end as it's entirely self-inflicted. I did this to myself as I cannot control myself and have been destroying my body through vaping and other means.”
The video uploaded by Westman, later deleted, showed diagrams of the church, a knife thrust into a church drawing, and a cardboard silhouette target with an image of Christ. According to The New York Post, the footage depicted a hand turning the pages of a red notebook filled with “inscrutable handwritten scrawl,” accompanied by smoke and maniacal giggling.
Westman’s connection to Annunciation Catholic School ran deep. His mother, Mary, worked as a secretary at the school from 2016 to 2021, and he himself graduated from the school in 2017. Court records indicate that Mary gave her son permission to legally change his name from Robert to Robin in 2020, when he was 17 years old.
The aftermath of the shooting saw an outpouring of grief and shock from the community and leaders nationwide. Fifth-grader Weston Halsne, who survived the attack, recounted ducking for cover in the pews and being shielded by a friend who was hit. “I was super-scared for him, but I think now he’s okay,” Weston said, adding that he was praying for the other hospitalized children and adults.
Bill Bienemann, a longtime attendee of Annunciation Church, described hearing “dozens of shots, perhaps as many as 50, over the span of about four minutes.” His daughter, Alexandra, who graduated from the school in 2014, said the shooting left her “shaking and crying,” adding, “It breaks my heart, makes me sick to my stomach, knowing that there are people I know who are either injured or maybe even killed. It doesn’t make me feel safe at all in this community that I have been in for so long.”
President Donald Trump addressed the tragedy on social media, writing, “I have been fully briefed on the tragic shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The FBI quickly responded and they are on the scene. The White House will continue to monitor this terrible situation. Please join me in praying for everyone involved!” He later issued a proclamation ordering all U.S. flags to be flown at half-staff until sunset on Sunday as “a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz also expressed his condolences, stating, “It’s Minnesota’s day today, and it’s my strongest desire that no state, no community, no school ever experiences a day like this.” He praised the efforts of first responders, clergy, teachers, and hospital staff, urging Minnesotans to “hug your kids close.” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, meanwhile, called for more than just “thoughts and prayers,” saying, “These kids were literally praying. It was the first week of school, they were in a church. These are kids that should be learning with their friends. They should be playing on the playground. They should be able to go to school or church in peace without the fear or risk of violence, and their parents should have the same kind of assurance.”
The National Police Association weighed in, calling for further study of mass shootings involving transgender suspects, referencing the Nashville Covenant School shooting and noting, “Today’s trans mass shooter preemptively uploaded their manifesto. Studies should commence.”
Westman’s uncle, former Kentucky state lawmaker Bob Heleringer, expressed his shock and sorrow, saying, “It’s an unspeakable tragedy. We’re praying for my sister and her other children and also, obviously, for these poor, poor children.”
As Minneapolis and the nation grapple with the horror of this attack, the investigation continues, with the FBI treating the case as both domestic terrorism and a hate crime. The community, meanwhile, is left to mourn the loss of young lives and to confront the sobering reality of violence striking at the very heart of a place meant for peace and sanctuary.
