Two children have been killed and 17 other people have been injured after a gunman fired dozens of rounds through the windows at a Minneapolis Catholic school while pupils were praying.
The assailant, wielding a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol, had opened fire at a church while the schoolchildren were attending Mass before taking his own life, authorities said.
The children killed were 8 years old and 10 years old, they explained.
The shooting took place just two days into the new school year at Annunciation Catholic school, a private elementary school with about 395 students.
"This was a deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshiping.
“The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible," Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara told reporters.
Pupils at the school had been sitting in the pews at Mass when gunfire erupted. One 10-year-old pupil who was in the church at the time described how his friend was “hit” as he tried to save him from the bullet fire by lying on top of him.
"I was like two seats away from the stained glass window," Weston Halsne told CBS affiliate WCCO. "My friend, Victor, saved me though, because he laid on top of me, but he got hit.
"My friend got hit in the back, he went to the hospital... I was super scared for him but I think now he's okay.
"I think I got like gunpowder on my neck."
"Don't just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now. These kids were literally praying. It was the first week of school. They were in a church," a visibly angry Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said at a news conference.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the case was being investigated as an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics.
Patel identified the attacker as Robin Westman, who public records show to be a 23-year-old resident of the area. Court records show Westman's name was changed from Robert Westman in 2020 on the grounds that they identified as female.
The school is connected to Annunciation Catholic Church, and both are located in a residential area in the southeast part of Minnesota's largest city.
Local TV showed parents ducking under yellow police crime tape and leading students out of the school.
Officials added the shooter wore black clothing and did not have an extensive criminal history.
Children's Minnesota, a local hospital system, said it was treating six children.
There have been more than 140 shootings at US elementary and secondary schools this year, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database.
US President Donald Trump said he had been briefed on the shooting and said the FBI was on the scene. "Please join me in praying for everyone involved!" he said on social media.
The US Department of Homeland Security is in touch with local authorities and monitoring the situation, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on social media.
There have been three other shootings in the midwestern city since Tuesday afternoon, including one at a Jesuit high school, that have together left three people dead and seven wounded, according to police.
Wednesday's shooting did not appear to be related to the others, O'Hara said.
Minneapolis has experienced a significant rise in homicides in the years following the 2020 police killing of George Floyd, which prompted nationwide protests, civil disturbances and staffing shortages in the city's police department.
The city recorded 54 homicides last year, down from 71 in 2021 but well above the 29 recorded in 2019.
In June, Minnesota also experienced an incident of political violence, when a gunman posing as a police officer allegedly assassinated a Democratic state lawmaker and her husband in their home, and wounded another lawmaker and his wife. The suspect was arrested after a massive two-day manhunt and faces state and federal murder charges.
Minnesota state law requires background checks for all gun sales and the state as a whole has a gun death rate below the national average, according to Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun violence prevention group.
