A mass shooting occurred Wednesday morning at a Minneapolis Catholic school, in what the FBI is reportedly investigating as an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics. KMSP-TV, the Fox affiliate in Eden Prairie, Minn., reported that two children, ages 8 and 10, were killed, and 17 others were injured.
The gunman was found dead at the scene, reportedly by suicide.
“In the middle of the day, a gunman, armed with a high-velocity, .223 rifle, opened fire on a group of people on the sidewalk … directly across the street from a Catholic high school,” Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara told reporters. “The gunman wound up killing one person and wounding six others that were standing on the sidewalk.”
He added, “Police officers responded, finding one adult male who was deceased upon arrival. Additionally, there were six additional victims suffering from gunshot wounds, five males and one woman … . Three of those surviving victims were said to have critical and life-threatening injuries.”
O’Hara added that all of the surviving victims were expected to live.
“I’ve been briefed on a shooting at Annunciation Catholic School and will continue to provide updates as we get more information. The [Bureau of Criminal Apprehension] and State Patrol are on scene,” wrote Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on the social media platform X Wednesday morning. “I’m praying for our kids and teachers whose first week of school was marred by this horrific act of violence.”
The city of Minneapolis announced on social media after the shooting that the “shooter is contained” and that “there is no active threat.”
President Donald Trump responded to the shooting on the social media platform Truth Social, 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!”
Fox News is reporting that the shooter has been “identified as Robert or Robin Westman, according to law enforcement sources,” and that “sources said the shooter may have used both names.”
Fox additionally reported that “court records show that a Minneapolis juvenile named Robert Westman had their name legally changed to Robin in 2019.”
Harmeet Dillon, U.S. assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, said in an interview with Real America’s Voice, “The reports of this shooter are that this person was transgender. We’ve seen quite a bit of that in school shootings and other people disrupting. A lot of Antifa members are transgender in cases that I’ve been involved in.”
But Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, at a news conference, fired back at those discussing transgenderism’s potential role in the shootings in light of reports that the gunman could have been a trans-identifying male.
“I have heard about a whole lot of hate that’s being directed at our trans community. Anybody who is using this as an opportunity to villainize our trans community or any other community out there has lost their sense of common humanity. We should not be operating out of a place of hate for anyone,” said Frey.
This report has been updated since publication with new details.