Police respond at Annunciation School after a man killed two children and injured several others Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025 in Minneapolis. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)

Two children, ages 8 and 10, were killed by a shooter who opened fire outside Annunciation Church in south Minneapolis, where students at the Catholic school were gathered Wednesday for Mass to celebrate the beginning of the school year.

Another 17 people were injured — 14 children and three parishioners in their 80s — and are being treated at area hospitals. One adult and six children were in critical condition Wednesday afternoon, according to Hennepin Healthcare.

Annunciation Principal Matt DeBoer said teachers acted within seconds of gunfire erupting to shelter children under pews.

“It could have been significantly worse without their heroic action,” DeBoer said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. “We lost two angels today. Please continue to pray for those still receiving care. We can’t change the past, but we can do something about the future.”

The shooter, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, barricaded the door of the church with a wood board and shot dozens of rounds through the window using a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol, according to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara.

“The coward that shot these victims took his own life in the rear of the church,” O’Hara said.

Outside the school after the shooting, parents were picking up their children, who wore the green polos that are the school uniform.

Susan Ruff, a neighbor whose children attended the school at Annunciation and has a grandson currently enrolled, said she saw the shooting from her window.

She witnessed a man dressed in black, wearing a helmet, with a long gun, shooting at the church from the outside. She heard 25 or 30 gun shots. “It sounded like someone was dropping a dumpster. That loud bang. But I kept hearing it, so I thought, that’s not a dumpster.” Her grandson was unhurt in the shooting.

Westman purchased the weapons legally and did not have a criminal record, O’Hara said. He said law enforcement were not seeking other suspects.

Court records show a Mary Westman, who retired from Annunciation Catholic School in 2021 according to a now-deleted Facebook post, requested a name change for her child from Robert to Robin in 2019 saying “minor identifies as female.” O’Hara said he could not confirm the suspect’s connection to the school or that the suspect changed their name.

O’Hara said investigators believe Westman is behind videos scheduled to post on YouTube on Wednesday morning, which have since been taken down. One video opens with a four-page handwritten screed that begins, “I don’t expect forgiveness … I do apologize for the effects my actions will have on your lives.”

It also showed an arsenal of guns and ammunition with writing on them reading “Where Is Your God?” and “Suck On This!” Other writings, some in Russian, target President Donald Trump and wish death upon Jewish people.

Numerous law enforcement agencies were on the scene including the FBI, ATF and the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office.

O’Hara said law enforcement are executing four search warrants, one at the church and three others at residences in the metro area connected to the suspect where firearms are being recovered.

“We are all working tirelessly to uncover the full scope of what happened, to try and identify a motive, why it happened, and whether there are any other further details,” O’Hara said.

Neighbors and former students said they were shaken by the shooting in the typically quiet southwestern Minneapolis neighborhood.

Jack Friedman, 25, went to the school and lives in the area. He said, “You never think that it’s going to happen at the school you went to, but then you start thinking how naïve to believe that. Because it happens everywhere.”

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, speaking at a news conference outside the school, called for action — not just thoughts and prayers, which has become a rote response to mass shootings.

“Don’t just say, this is about thoughts and prayers right now,” he said. “These kids were literally praying. It was the first week of school. They were in a church.”

Vigils are planned Wednesday night for the victims. Annunciation Church announced a prayer vigil at 7 p.m. in the Holy Angels Gym. Anti-gun violence group Moms Demand Action announced a candlelight vigil at 8 p.m. at Minneapolis Lynnhurst Park.

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