Authorities in Minneapolis are still investigating the motive behind the horrifying shooting at the church next to Annunciation Catholic School on Wednesday, which claimed the lives of two children.
The attack comes weeks after the Trump administration cut Homeland Security program funding aimed at preventing mass shootings, which experts say may have left threats like suspected shooter, 23-year-old Robin Westman, unnoticed.
“I won’t dignify the shooter’s words by repeating them,” acting U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Joseph Thompson said at a briefing Thursday. “They are horrific and vile, but in short, the shooter wanted to watch children suffer.”
The shooter’s mother, Mary Grace, has retained criminal defense attorney Ryan Garry, known for working with NFL star Colin Kaepernick on representing the George Floyd protestors.
According to a warrant seen by Fox 9, Westman’s father told police the shooter recently “broke up with a significant and/or romantic partner” and had been staying with a friend.
The two children killed in the school shooting have been named by their families. The first was identified as 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel, whose father gave an emotional statement to reporters on Thursday afternoon.
Shortly after, Harper Moyski was named in a statement shared on her parents’ behalf, which described the 10-year-old as “bright, joyful, and deeply loved.”
Read More
8-year-old killed in Minnesota church shooting is identified as father gives heartbreaking statement
Key points
- Jen Psaki responds to MAGA’s ‘bad faith’ attacks over her saying ‘prayer is not freaking enough’
- Classmates say shooter gave Nazi salutes and idolized school shootings
- Shooter recently broke up with romantic partner, report
- Westman's mother retains attorney
- In numbers: The US just saw its 44th school shooting of 2025
Health statuses of shooting victims
21:25
,
Erin Keller
At least seven people remained hospitalized Saturday after the Minneapolis church shooting, including five children and one adult at Hennepin County Medical Center and one patient at Children’s Minnesota, according to the Associated Press.
Four children were in satisfactory condition, one child in critical condition, and the adult in serious condition.
Handmade cards from classmates comfort a girl wounded in Minneapolis church shooting, aunt says
20:39
,
Erin Keller
Genevieve Bisek, a sixth grader wounded in the Minneapolis church shooting, is finding comfort in dozens of handmade cards from her classmates.
"All of these handmade cards are just absolutely adorable and heartfelt," Genevieve's aunt, Wanda Stipek, told The Associated Press in a phone interview Saturday. "This is coming from other kids who also have their own trauma and yet are still reaching out and showing their love for her. She has these cards taped up on the walls in her room so that she can see this and be surrounded by that love."
The 11-year-old has been upgraded to satisfactory condition at Hennepin County Medical Center. She has not yet been informed that two of her classmates have died, including Fletcher Merkel, 8, who was her neighbor and friend of the family.
"Genevieve is a very sensitive and compassionate little girl," Stipek said. "When she did wake up from her sedation after the event, the first thing that she wanted to talk about, she asked about the other children."
Stipek said Genevieve told her mother, "I can't say that I wish this wouldn't have happened to me because I don't want it to have happened to anyone else either."
Wounded Minnesota boy to doctor: ‘Can you pray with me?’
19:49
,
Erin Keller
Endre, a 13-year-old boy who was shot twice in Wednesday’s shooting and underwent emergency surgery, asked his doctor, “Can you say a prayer with me?” according to his aunt, Natalie Davis, in a GoFundMe post.
Davis shared a hopeful update on Saturday, revealing Endre is now recovering, and the surgeon told the family that Endre inspired the entire medical team.
An emotional looks at the shooting site
19:02
,
Erin Keller
Tulsi Gabbard slams Jen Psaki as ‘agent of darkness’ over prayer remarks
17:57
,
Erin Keller
Shooting memorial site in photos
17:15
,
Erin Keller
Shooter 'obsessed with the idea of killing children,' police say
16:29
,
Erin Keller
Annunciation Catholic Church shooter Robin Westman did not seem to have any motive in mind when he opened fire, killing two kids and injuring 18 others, but was “obsessed with the idea of killing children,” Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said Thursday.
Westman "appeared to hate all of us,” the chief said on Thursday, adding, "More than anything, the shooter wanted to kill children.”
Minneapolis shooting reignites debate over gun control and prayer
15:50
,
Erin Keller
“Thoughts and prayers” aren’t cutting it, some say.
Trump administration cut mass shooter prevention funds weeks before Minneapolis church attack
15:00
,
Erin Keller
A month before the Minneapolis church shooting, the Trump administration cut $18.5 million in funding from a Homeland Security program aimed at identifying and preventing potential mass shooters.
Officials dismissed the program as partisan and ineffective, but critics argue the cuts weakened efforts to detect warning signs of attackers like Robin Westman, who killed two children and injured 18 others before taking his own life.
Tulsi Gabbard calls Jen Psaki 'agent of darkness and hatred' for suggesting prayer alone won't solve gun crime epidemic
14:22
,
Erin Keller
Director of National Intelligence and former U.S. Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard unleashed a sharp rebuke of MSNBC host and former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, accusing her of harboring a “hatred of God” in the wake of the deadly Minneapolis Catholic school shooting.
On Friday, Gabbard took to X in response to Psaki’s viral post that read, “Prayer is not freaking enough,” arguing that offering “thoughts and prayers” after such tragedies fails to provide safety or justice.
"So why is it that people like Jen Psaki and others have such a spontaneous visceral negative reaction to those who are praying to God for refuge, strength, and for the wellbeing of the victims of this heinous attack? Because they do not believe in God or His love,” Gabbard wrote.
"Their response is rooted in their hatred of God," Gabbard added. "They want to be God, so they view Him as their competitor. They are agents of darkness and hatred, and the light of God’s love is a threat to their dark ambitions."
She further tied Psaki’s stance to broader cultural disagreements, denouncing “transgender rights ‘insanity and darkness” using Martin Luther King Jr.’s philosophy, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”
Who is Robin Westman? What we know about suspect in Minneapolis school shooting that left two children dead
14:00
,
Tom Watling
Nurse mom of Minnesota shooting victim was working in ICU when wounded daughter arrived
13:30
,
Tom Watling
Gun rights influencer responds after Minneapolis shooting suspect praised him in video
13:00
,
Tom Watling
The US just saw its 44th school shooting this year. The disturbing data shows the true scale of the problem
12:16
,
Tom Watling
Second victim of Minnesota church shooting identified as ‘bright, joyful and deeply loved’ 10-year-old
11:40
,
Tom Watling
Classmates say Minnesota school shooter gave Nazi salutes and idolized school shootings back in middle school
11:13
,
Tom Watling
Robin Westman’s ex-classmate says there were ‘red flags’ in the shooter’s behavior
10:39
,
Tom Watling
How to help the victims of the Minneapolis mass shooting
10:00
,
Mike Bedigan
Since Wednesday’s horrific events at Annunciation Catholic Church, people across the U.S. have stepped up with offers of help.
The City of Minneapolis established the Annunciation Response Fund, with the Minneapolis Foundation setting up a text-to-donate line.
Anyone wishing to donate to support the victims of the shooting can text “ACF1” to 41444.
The Minneapolis Foundation says it will work with Annunciation Catholic School to distribute those funds in the coming days and weeks.
The Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota has launched the Annunciation Hope and Healing Fund to support the church community.
GoFundMe has created a centralized hub of verified fundraisers. So far, eight fundraisers have been verified.
The Uvalde Foundation for Kids has launched a national initiative to provide financial support for the families of the two children who were killed at Annunciation to help with funeral arrangements, memorials and other expenses.
Finally, medical staff at hospitals who cared for the injured have underlined the need for blood donors as a substantial amount of the state’s supply was used in response to the attack.
With reporting from 5KSTP
Video: Who is Robin Westman?
09:30
,
Mike Bedigan
Classmates say Minnesota school shooter gave Nazi salutes and idolized school shootings back in middle school
09:00
,
Mike Bedigan
A former classmate of Minneapolis school shooter Robin Westman said the assailant idolized Adolf Hitler and obsessed over other mass killings even as far back as middle school.
Josefina Sanchez, who attended St. Agnes Catholic School with Westman in sixth and seventh grades, said there were “definitely red flags” with the shooter’s behavior.
Read more:
The US just saw its 44th school shooting this year. The disturbing data shows the true scale of the problem
08:30
,
Mike Bedigan
A fatal attack at a school church in Minneapolis marked the forty-fourth school shooting in the United States this year, killing two young children and wounding more.
School shootings have been rising over the past decade, in particular since Covid, even as some states tighten their gun laws.
Alicja Hagopian examines the scope of the problem.
Shooter recently broke up with romantic partner, report
08:00
,
Mike Bedigan
Fox 9 reports that, according to a search warrant, the shooter who opened fire on a crowd of people and killed two children at a Minneapolis church and school had recently broken up with a romantic partner.
The warrant says that the shooter, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the church, had been driving a van registered to their father when the attack was carried out.
Beside the body, which was dressed in black “tactical gear,” were a rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol.
Watch: Father of 8-year-old victim in Minneapolis shooting makes emotional statement
07:30
,
Mike Bedigan
Questions on shooter's motive remain
06:30
,
Mike Bedigan
Police have yet to establish a motive for Wednesday’s shooting, which claimed the lives of two young children.
Investigators are now analyzing a journal thought to have belonged to Westman containing writings in English and Cyrillic, expressing, among other things, a desire to gun down “a big assembly on the first day of school”.
Other entries in the notebook described feeling a sense of self-hatred and wanting to die, as well as being “morbidly obsessed” with past school shooters.
Though authorities previously described the writings as a “manifesto,” analysis by CNN revealed Westman had written that there was “no message.”
White House highlights arrest of DC teen when asked how they can reassure parents over school shootings
06:00
,
Mike Bedigan
'It's extremely surreal': Neighbors 'thunderstruck' by shooter's actions
05:30
,
Mike Bedigan
Neighbors of the Westmans said they were taken completely by surprise by what had unfolded on Wednesday, after cops searched the residence of the shooter in the Richmond suburb of Minneapolis, following the shooting.
“I would say I was thunderstruck,”Jim White, who lives across the street, told The Independent.
“We would always say hello to each other in passing and maybe chat a little bit. They actually gave me a bunch of landscaping rock to use in my yard, and so [they were] good neighbors and all the rest of that.
White added: “I'd see their kids coming and going pretty frequently, and the father would always be out working on cars or motorcycles and stuff with the kids, so this was not a family you would have thought this kind of thing would happen to.
“I never saw anything that would have suggested that anything like this would have even been possible... It is extremely surreal.”
Police have spoken to the shooter's mother. Who is she?
05:01
,
Mike Bedigan
Police revealed Friday that “there has been a conversation" with the mother of Robin Westman.
Mary Grace Westman worked as a secretary at the Minneapolis school her child opened fire at for five years before her retirement in 2021, according to a Facebook post and a church blog. Her brother Robert Heleringer, a former Republican representative in the Kentucky General Assembly, described their family’s strictly Catholic upbringing in multiple op-eds published in the 2010s.
She has retained criminal defense attorney Ryan Garry following the attack. Garry is known for his work with NFL star Colin Kaepernick on representing the George Floyd protestors.
When asked on Fox News on Thursday why Mary Grace had retained an attorney, Garry said: "She is completely distraught about the situation and has no culpability but is seeking an attorney to deal with calls like this."
Watch: Mike Johnson says 'the human heart' and not guns are responsible for school shootings
04:30
,
Mike Bedigan
In pictures: Tributes and memorials left outside Annunciation Catholic Church
03:54
,
Mike Bedigan
Minnesota governor Tim Walz: 'It's time to take action'
03:26
,
Mike Bedigan
It’s time to take serious action at the State Capitol to address gun violence.
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) August 29, 2025
Police have spoken with shooter's mother
02:51
,
Oliver O'Connell
Christopher Gaiters, the police department's assistant chief of community trust, declined to share much on the investigation into the Annunciation shooting at Friday’s press conference.
However, he did say “there has been a conversation" with the shooter's mother.”
Gaiters also said that there will be extra patrols for schools and places of worship over the next several days.
These will be carried out by officers working overtime and with support from other agencies.
“We recognize that people want to be reassured that our community's going to be safe, that our children are going to be safe,” Gaiters said.
Mayor praises response by city staff
02:38
,
Oliver O'Connell
During a news conference on Friday afternoon, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey praised city staff from multiple departments for their immediate and ongoing response to the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church.
Joining the mayor were representatives from the Office of Community Safety, the Emergency Management Department, and the police force.
“I'm proud of the performance of the last several days, and we also know that it's not over yet,” Frey said.
He added that years of preparation went into the response to Wednesday's shooting.
“Following the events of 2020, we as a city did not sit back on our hands,” he said. “We did everything possible to improve emergency management and crisis response.”
Public outrage and protests over the murder of George Floyd by the police in 2020 gave way to widespread civil disorder in the city over five days in late May 2020.
Part of the city’s reset of how it handles major incidents involved a trip to Maryland for several days of simulated crises, coordinated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Frey said: “Those simulations, that collective work and the stick-to-it-ness that we showed in the years following helped to prepare us for emergencies of any kind.”
Classmates say Minnesota school shooter gave Nazi salutes and idolized school shootings
02:19
,
Oliver O'Connell
A former classmate of Minneapolis school shooter Robin Westman said the assailant idolized Adolf Hitler and obsessed over other mass killings even as far back as middle school.
Josefina Sanchez, who attended St. Agnes Catholic School with Westman in sixth and seventh grades, said there were “definitely red flags” with the shooter’s behavior.
Speaking to KARE 11, Sanchez said Westman would be verbally abusive to other students in their middle school classes and perform Nazi salutes when teachers had their backs turned.
Mike Bedigan has the story.
IN FOCUS: The US just saw its 44th school shooting this year. The disturbing data shows the true scale of the problem
01:50
,
Oliver O'Connell
A fatal attack at a school church in Minneapolis marked the forty-fourth school shooting in the United States this year, killing two young children and wounding more.
School shootings have been rising over the past decade, in particular since Covid, even as some states tighten their gun laws.
Alicja Hagopian examines the scope of the problem.
How to help the victims of the Minneapolis mass shooting
01:28
,
Oliver O'Connell
Since Wednesday’s horrific events at Annunciation Catholic Church, people across the U.S. have stepped up with offers of help.
The City of Minneapolis established the Annunciation Response Fund, with the Minneapolis Foundation setting up a text-to-donate line.
Anyone wishing to donate to support the victims of the shooting can text “ACF1” to 41444.
The Minneapolis Foundation says it will work with Annunciation Catholic School to distribute those funds in the coming days and weeks.
The Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota has launched the Annunciation Hope and Healing Fund to support the church community.
GoFundMe has created a centralized hub of verified fundraisers. So far, eight fundraisers have been verified.
The Uvalde Foundation for Kids has launched a national initiative to provide financial support for the families of the two children who were killed at Annunciation to help with funeral arrangements, memorials and other expenses.
Finally, medical staff at hospitals who cared for the injured have underlined the need for blood donors as a substantial amount of the state’s supply was used in response to the attack.
With reporting from 5KSTP
Minneapolis mayor responds to criticism for demand for action after shooting
01:02
,
Oliver O'Connell
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has responded to criticism of his call for actions in addition to prayers in response to Wednesday’s mass shooting.
Frey was reacting to a post by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who wrote: “Those like @jenpsaki and @Jacob_Frey who criticize prayers in the wake of the Minneapolis tragedy are expressing the same anti-God sentiment that motivated the shooter— he aimed his wrath at God by trying to stop people with his bullets from praying to God. Now is a time for us to come together and join hands in prayer, for the children who were killed, their loved ones, and those who survived this horrific shooting.”
The mayor responded: “In Judaism, under תִּיקּוּן עוֹלָם ("Heal the World"), we are taught that prayer is necessary, but not sufficient. Elected leaders cannot use prayers alone to let ourselves off the hook for our own inaction.”
School shootings in the U.S. are met with calls for “thoughts and prayers” for the victims, followed by stunning inaction from lawmakers to address access to guns.
In Judaism, under תִּיקּוּן עוֹלָם ("Heal the World"), we are taught that prayer is necessary, but not sufficient. Elected leaders cannot use prayers alone to let ourselves off the hook for our own inaction. https://t.co/7DTNf7w8Zx
— Jacob Frey (@Jacob_Frey) August 29, 2025
