Two children were killed and 17 others injured when a gunman opened fire through the windows of Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis on Wednesday morning, August 27, 2025, during a Mass marking the first week of school.
The victims killed were an eight-year-old and a 10-year-old child, according to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara. Of the 17 injured, 14 were children, with two in critical condition. The shooter, identified by law enforcement sources as 23-year-old Robin Westman, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene.
The attack began just before 8:30 a.m. when the gunman, dressed in black, approached the side of the church building at 509 West 54th Street and fired through the windows at children and other worshippers sitting in the pews. O’Hara stated the shooter was “deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshipping.”
Police reported the gunman was armed with a rifle, shotgun and pistol, firing dozens of rounds from all three weapons. O’Hara indicated the shooter did not have an extensive criminal history and appeared to have acted alone. Authorities also discovered what appeared to be a smoke bomb at the scene.
Law enforcement sources revealed that Westman’s mother previously worked at Annunciation School as an administrative assistant in the business office, according to a 2016 school newsletter. Court documents show that in 2019, Westman applied to change her name from Robert to Robin in Dakota County, with the filing stating she identified as female.
Prior to the attack, Westman posted videos on YouTube showing guns, ammunition and handwritten notes addressed to family and friends that mentioned depression and an intention to fulfill a final act. The videos contained racist and antisemitic messages as well as threats against President Trump written on the weapons and ammunition. The FBI is investigating the shooting as an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics.
Hennepin Healthcare Hospital treated 10 patients from the shooting, including eight children ages six to 14 and two adults. Seven patients were classified as critical, with four requiring immediate surgery. Children’s Minnesota hospital admitted seven children between ages nine and 16, with one child discharged by Wednesday afternoon.
Weston Halsne, a 10-year-old fifth-grader at the school, described sitting near a stained glass window when the shooting began. He recounted how a friend named Victor protected him by lying on top of him during the attack, though Victor was wounded in the back. Halsne and other students hid under church pews before being moved to the school gymnasium.
Another survivor, Endre Gunter Jr., witnessed the shooter approaching and saw a girl next to him get shot in the head before he was struck in the stomach, according to his grandmother Denise Roberts. The boy underwent surgery to remove bullet fragments and was recovering at Hennepin County Medical Center.
Neighbor Bill Bienemann, who lives two blocks from the school, reported hearing what he estimated to be 30 to 50 shots fired over three to four minutes. He initially dismissed the sound as something other than gunfire due to the volume and duration of the shooting.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey expressed his emotional response during a news conference, emphasizing that families should consider the victims as their own children. Governor Tim Walz ordered flags at state buildings to fly at half-staff immediately to honor the victims.
President Trump ordered American flags at the White House and all federal buildings to be flown at half-staff until sunset on Sunday, August 31, 2025. Trump also spoke by phone with Governor Walz following the shooting to offer condolences.
The shooting occurred during the traditional Wednesday morning Mass that students attend during their first week of school. Annunciation Catholic School serves students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade and had 391 students enrolled during the 2023-24 school year.
The century-old school had chosen “A Future Filled with Hope” as its theme for the 2025 school year, based on a verse from the Book of Jeremiah. The parish and school building opened in September 1923, one year after the parish was established.
The attack marked the latest in a series of violent incidents in Minneapolis, following three separate fatal shootings that occurred Tuesday afternoon through early Wednesday morning. The previous day, one person was killed and six wounded in a shooting near Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, approximately four miles north of Annunciation.
Archbishop Bernard Hebda of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis announced a prayer service for 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield. Several area Catholic schools postponed scheduled athletic events in response to the tragedy.